The UN General Assembly designated 7 September as the International Day of Clean Air for the blue skies, with a view to raising awareness and mobilizing global action to address air pollution, which represents one of the biggest threats to human health and is responsible for seven million premature deaths each year globally.
ICAO would like to join the commemoration of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, as the lead UN agency in all matters involving international civil aviation.
The Assembly Resolution A41-20 declares that ICAO continues to address the adverse environmental impacts that may be related to civil aviation activity, and acknowledges its responsibility and that of its Member States to achieve maximum compatibility between the safe and orderly development of civil aviation and the quality of the environment. In carrying out its responsibilities, ICAO and its Member States will strive, inter alia, to limit or reduce the impact of aviation emissions on local air quality.
Under its mandate, ICAO continues its work to develop technologically feasible, environmentally beneficial and economically reasonable standards, as contained in Annex 16, Volume II — Aircraft Engine Emissions, to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Furthermore, in order to address local air quality in the vicinity of airports, ICAO develops and updates the Airport Air Quality Manual (Doc 9889). From the operational perspectives, ICAO has fostered the development of operational procedures as a means of limiting or reducing the impact of aircraft engine emissions that have also reduced significantly local air quality pollution.
More information on ICAO's work to reduce aviation's impacts on local air quality (LAQ) is available here.
