Sustainability of Aviation Fuels

In 2016, ICAO Assembly Resolution A39-2 requested States to recognize existing approaches to assess the sustainability of all alternative fuels in general, including those for use in aviation which should achieve net GHG emissions reduction on a life cycle basis, contribute to local social and economic development; competition with food and water should be avoided.

Subsequently, in the second ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/2) recognized that the sustainability of alternative aviation fuels is of essential importance to the efforts of international civil aviation to reduce its CO₂ emissions, and that this is ensured by application of sustainability criteria to SAF as is currently under consideration by ICAO.

In that regard, a set of Sustainability Criteria was approved by the ICAO Council, in the context of consideration of Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels under CORSIA. These Criteria are registered in the ICAO document "CORSIA sustainability criteria for CORSIA eligible fuels", available in the CORSIA eligible fuels website. The ICAO Assembly Resolution A42-21 requests States to recognize the CORSIA sustainability criteria, sustainability certification, and the methodology for the assessment of life cycle emissions of such fuels, which should be used as the accepted basis for the eligibility of SAF, LCAF and other aviation cleaner energies used in international aviation.

Compliance with the Sustainability Criteria is be granted on the basis of independent attestation by CORSIA approved Sustainability Certification Schemes (SCSs). More information on this process can be found here.