Announcements
A series of announcements were made at the ICAO Stocktaking 2021; find out more.
- oneworld outlines path to net zero emissions by 2050
- Foundation of the Institute for Sustainable Aviation (ISA)
- ICAO and the global youth
- Germany Funding for PtL
- IRENA new report: Reaching Zero with Renewables: Biojet Fuels
- Smartenergy partners with Sunfire on a lead PtL project in Iberia (Porto and Valencia)
- ISCC announces the first CORSIA certification of a refinery
- Air Liquide announces partnerships and initiatives on hydrogen for aviation
- ICAO and UNEP-FI announce future collaboration in sustainable aviation
- Air Canada announces the formation of a new SAF network in Canada
- ICAO announces the ICAO I4F Dialogues – 22 November 2021
- ICAO announces a new publication - Action towards a green aviation transition
ICAO Stocktaking 2021
The 2021 ICAO Stocktaking is the most important global event of the year on the decarbonisation of the aviation sector.
Building on the 2020 ICAO Stocktaking event, which displayed over 100 innovative solutions to unlock current and future CO2 aviation emissions reduction potentials, along with strong commitments and ambitious roadmaps to zero emissions, the 2021 ICAO Stocktaking will provide a forum for the exchange and collection of information and data between all aviation stakeholders, covering the three areas for in-sector reductions: technologies, operations, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
During the four-day event aeronautical pioneers, industry leaders, technical experts, researchers, innovators, civil society advocates, and States, will illustrate their concrete and ambitious plans for decarbonizing international aviation. The event will conclude with a policy day, featuring high-level interventions to discuss the link between the post-pandemic green recovery and the future of sustainable aviation.
Contact us if you are interested to contribute to the Stocktaking process (email to stocktaking [at] icao.int (stocktaking[at]icao[dot]int)).
ICAO Pre-Stocktaking Webinars
From March to August 2021, a series of ICAO Pre-Stocktaking webinars paved the way to the 2021 Stocktaking. The presentations and videos of these events are available below.
Battery technology, fueling Aviation Electrification (Tuesday, 16 March 2021 / 10h00-11h30 Montreal time)
Aviation electrification is arousing a growing interest from the aviation community and beyond. To meet climate challenges, breakthrough aircraft technologies are being designed and developed. Powered by clean energy, they have great potential to shape a carbon-free future for aviation. Being hybrid or electric novel designs rely on battery technologies, and with these new aircraft types comes with challenges. Today, the aviation electrification touches on small aircraft due to the limited energy capacities of batteries and significant improvements in battery energy density are critical in opening up the range of possibilities in aviation electrification for commercial aircraft. In addition, from the production of its raw materials to the end-of-life battery disposal, the sustainability of the battery supply chain is key to ensure the environmental integrity of the aviation's transition towards an electrification future. Watch the whole webinar on ICAO.tv.
Hydrogen, getting to zero carbon flights (Thursday, 15 April 2021 / 10h00-11h30 Montreal time)
A growing number of aviation stakeholders have recently shared their zero-emission visions, goals and roadmaps to shape a carbon-free aviation future and tackle climate change. These roadmaps often rely on developing breakthrough aircraft technologies powered with clean energies. One of the main innovative means proposed is a hydrogen-powered aircraft. Like for other revolutionary concepts, hydrogen aircraft come with new challenges: from the design of the aircraft technology to its operation within the global network and the fuel by which they are being powered. Beyond the engineering of the aircraft itself, it is imperative to ensure both the availability and sustainability of the hydrogen used to power these aircraft. This is a major challenge to overcome, given the current levels of green hydrogen production around the world and the growing interest in it from the entire transport sector. Watch the whole webinar on ICAO.tv.
Meet the speakers.
Synthetic Fuels for Aviation (Thursday, 6 May 2021 - 10h00-11h30 Montreal time)
Clean energies are key to enable the decarbonisation of aviation. Sustainable Aviation Fuels are one of the main pathways being explored and used today by the aviation community to reduce its impact on the global climate. Drop-in alternative fuels represents a major opportunity to reduce today's aviation carbon emissions and synthetic fuels are amongst these promising options. Also called power-to-liquid (PtL) or e-fuels, synthetic fuels are often considered a sustainable option in the long term, due to their low lifecycle emissions and other environmental impacts. Initiatives and uses have multiplied in recent years. However, they still represent a niche fuel type and major challenges need to be overcome in order to ensure their large scale development and deployment. These challenges include renewables energy production scaled-up, cost competitiveness and infrastructure widespread support. Watch the whole webinar on ICAO.tv.
e-VTOL and urban air mobility – A new systemic and sustainable approach for air travel (Friday, 4 June 2021 / 10h00-11h30 Montreal time)
Inventing the aviation of tomorrow is a unique opportunity to adopt green innovations, but also to think about the mobility of tomorrow differently, both over long and short distances. Urban air mobility is a whole new aspect of air transport that offers new opportunities to aviation stakeholders. It is also an opportunity to construct a green and sustainable sub-sector, building upon the lessons learned over decades by aviation. Electric vertical take-off and landing (e-VTOL) aircraft technologies are currently being developed and experimented. However, challenges such as ground infrastructure, economical costs or energy density of batteries would need to be overcome to make it a viable sub-sector. Watch the whole webinar on ICAO.tv.
Infrastructure development for supplying clean energy for air travel (Tuesday, 27 July 2021 / 10h00-11h30 Montreal time)
Clean energies are key to enable the decarbonisation of aviation. Clean energy production, transport and storage are all essential aspects to meet aviation needs. A range of clean energy types of fuels are being considered today by the aviation community, including ''drop-in'' aviation fuels, relying mostly on already existing fuel infrastructure at airports, and ''non drop-in'' aviation fuels, that would require new types of infrastructures. The development of suitable infrastructure at airports is therefore essential for the supply of alternative fuels. These infrastructures must also guarantee similar safety levels as for conventional jet fuels. In addition, to initiate a global aviation transition, developing a global network of infrastructures is crucial in order to allow the supply of new fuels in as many airports as possible. Watch the whole webinar on ICAO.tv.
2021 ICAO Stocktaking preview (Tuesday, 10 August 2021 / 9h00-11h00 Montreal time)