1 January 2019 marked a milestone for CORSIA, as aircraft operators began monitoring CO2 emissions from international flights. This session will review challenges faced during the first five months of CORSIA. With agreement reached on the eligibility criteria for offsets and the operationalisation of the Technical Advisory Body, the ICAO Council took another key step toward the implementation of CORSIA. What comes next? The panel will also look ahead to the 40th ICAO Assembly discussions on aviation and environment. What issues need to be covered?

Aviation has always been at the forefront of efficiency improvements. Nevertheless, conventional efficiency gains will not be able to keep up with increasing passenger and cargo volumes in air traffic and innovative technology is needed to reduce aviation’s environmental impact drastically. This panel sheds light on some of the exciting developments on the horizon in order to reach the industry’s long-term goal of halving net CO2 emissions by 2050, compared to 2005 levels. What else will be needed in the long-term to reach the industry’s climate target?

Air transport in the future will increasingly rely on the availability of sustainable energy sources. More than 40 airlines have gained experience using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) since the first technical certification in 2011. Increasingly, airlines, airports, producers, suppliers and governments are seeking to understand their role in advancing the commercialisation of these fuels. With some 170,000 commercial SAF flights having already been performed, some significant forward purchase agreements and construction underway on new facilities, the numbers appear promising. What are the latest developments? Are we progressing fast enough, what direction is global policy moving in and what are the main hurdles to larger scale deployment? Where do the experts think we will be in 2025?

University College London - Fabio Grimaldi, Dr. Massimiliano Materazzi, Stefano Iannello

Aircraft and airport noise are complex subjects which have been studied for decades and are still the focus of many research efforts today. In 2018, the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe (WHO Europe) published tough guidelines and recommendations for policymakers to reduce aircraft noise. Meanwhile, significant efforts are being made across the industry to reduce the impact of aircraft operations on communities: aircraft are getting quieter, airports and air traffic controllers are working to provide operational noise mitigation measures and local governments are working with the aviation industry to zone areas around airports more appropriately. At a time when communities and airports grow closer together physically due to urbanisation and air traffic growth, what is the outlook for the industry’s efforts towards noise abatement? How can the industry engage in more effective dialogue with communities affected by aircraft noise and governments in charge of land-use planning? And how are choices made between conflicting issues such as shortening flight routes to reduce the amount of fuel used and maintaining noise abatement procedures?

The ability to meet the growing need for mobility around the world, while minimising negative impacts on society and environment, will be essential to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. Transport systems are central to all aspects of our lives as they provide food security, healthcare, access to schools and employment for all. This panel will discuss the role aviation plays in the context of sustainable mobility alongside other modes of transport. What is air transport’s contribution to transforming global mobility into an efficient, safe, green and universally accessible catalyst for social development?

Aviation faces a number of challenges that could impact its ability to connect the world. Members of the ICAO Council, representing different geographic regions, share what those challenges mean for them, how pressing they are and how ICAO, governments, the industry and civil society can better work together to address these issues. Discussions will focus on three main topics: building the industry's workforce of the future, tackling climate change and, more broadly, air transport as a driver of sustainable development.