Every year, the Conference of the Parties (COP) brings together representatives from States that have joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This year, COP29 took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024, with countries and stakeholders coming together to tackle the challenge of climate change. The UNFCCCestablished COP in 1992 to provide a space for world leaders, UN agencies, negotiators, climate experts, businesses, activists, and Indigenous Peoples to share strategies and forge agreements on climate action. This year’s discussions focused on crucial objectives, including limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, supporting vulnerable populations, and advancing net-zero emissions by 2050—while ensuring national climate plans are both ambitious and achievable.
During this event, ICAO advocated for aviation’s clean energy transition en route to Net-Zero 2050. Led by the President of the ICAO Council, Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano, and by the Envoy of the ICAO Secretary-General to the UNFCCC COP, Ms. Jane Hupe, our delegation at COP29 took part in discussions and hosted several events to inform Parties and relevant stakeholders of the latest developments achieved by ICAO and our Member States in addressing emissions from international aviation.
All ICAO outreach activities at COP29 are available on the ICAO at COP29 webpage.
On the opening day of COP29, ICAO hosted a briefing session titled Implementing a clean energy transition for international aviation in support of the Sustainable Development Goals at the UN SDG Pavilion. The event highlighted our efforts in achieving aviation’s journey towards Net Zero 2050 while ensuring that No Country is Left Behind in aviation’s clean energy transition will contribute to the achievement of UN SDGs, including SDG #13 on climate action.
“While international aviation continues to play an essential role in global connectivity and economic growth, ICAO and our 193 Member States are committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in support of the Paris Agreement’s temperature goal”, noted President Sciacchitano. “Achieving the clean energy transition for aviation will require unprecedented efforts and collaboration towards capacity-building support and access to financing for the production and use of sustainable fuels”.
Our briefing session showcased the recent progress made by ICAO and our 193 Member States towards achieving the Long-term Global Aspirational Goal (LTAG) for international aviation of Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2050 and the implementation of the ICAO Global Framework for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF) and other Aviation Cleaner Energies.
In the closing ceremony of the briefing event, Azerbaijan State Civil Aviation Agency, Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, joined as a partner of ICAO’s Assistance, Capacity-building and Training for SAF (ACT-SAF) programme, which now involves over 200 States and relevant stakeholders. The ACT-SAF programme provides essential support that includes exchanging best practices, training, policy development, and feasibility studies that facilitate the global scale-up of aviation cleaner energies in all regions.
The ICAO Briefing Session can be watched on demand here; the presentations are available here.
On 12 November, President Sciacchitano adressed the High-level Roundtable on Energy: Advancing Climate Mitigation Action, held in the margins of the COP29 World Leaders Climate Action Summit, where he informed world leaders of the progress of aviation’s clean energy transition.
“The cleaner energy transition for aviation is unfolding now. Our path forward is clear. Since the adoption of the ICAO Global Framework, we are witnessing exponential growth in SAF production and deployment. 136 airports are now distributing SAF globally, with more than 350 facilities engaged in SAF production. SAF is currently approved for up to 50% blending with conventional jet fuel. And we aim for 100% SAF commercial operations in the near future.”
President Sciacchitano concluded, “As aviation will remain essential for the connectivity of peoples and business, an essential driver for tourism, and a key enabler of development, ICAO will continue to work together with its 193 Member States and all relevant stakeholders to ensure that No Country is Left Behind in aviation’s clean energy transition as we lead the sector’s journey toward Net-Zero 2050.”
COP29 provided an important opportunity for ICAO to engage with various leaders to discuss on the importance of achieving Net-Zero 2050 for international aviation. In Baku, President Sciacchitano had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to discuss the critical challenges facing global aviation including in the context of climate change, and further areas of collaboration in shaping the sustainable future of aviation.
President Sciacchitano also had the opportunity for bilateral meetings with the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. Arsenio Dominguez, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Mr. Francesco La Camera, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, Ms. Noura Hamladji, as well as representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
These high-level bilateral meetings with international organizations provided valuable opportunities for discussing ongoing and further areas of collaboration, including common approaches to addressing emissions from international transport sectors, progress under the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to facilitate access of eligible carbon credits under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), and further operationalization of the ICAO Finvest Hub to facilitate access to investment to aviation cleaner energy projects.
On 13 November, at the opening session of the Plenary of the Sixty-first session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 61), ICAO provided a Statement under the SBSTA Agenda item on “bunker fuel” (emissions from international aviation and maritime transport).
While reporting the substantial progress ICAO has made in addressing emissions from international aviation, the Envoy of the ICAO Secretary-General to the UNFCCC COP, Ms. Jane Hupe, highlighted Member State concerns about the potential aviation taxation approach. She noted that taxation could divert critical financial resources needed for the sector’s climate action efforts and negatively affect air connectivity, particularly in developing countries.
“Aviation is essential for the connectivity of people and business, an essential driver for tourism, and a key enabler of development. ICAO is committed in leading the sector’s journey towards net-zero, but this requires unprecedented efforts for financing the production and use of sustainable fuels for aviation decarbonization. For example, just scaling-up SAF production will require around USD 3.2 trillion up to 2050. In this regard, we join our Member States in continuing to express strong concerns regarding proposals to use international aviation as a potential source for the mobilization of revenue for climate finance in other sectors. This may adversely affect aviation’s decarbonization efforts and the global benefits resulting from air transport connectivity and economic growth, in particular in developing countries, which will be most affected by such taxation measures.”
ICAO provided its written Submission for consideration by the Conference under the Agenda item.
On 15 November during the “Energy Day” of COP29, we participated in a series of important side-events to enhance understanding, knowledge and awareness on the critical role of clean energy in achieving the decarbonization of international aviation.
In the first side-event, organized by Qatar on “Aviation Sustainability: a long journey towards a more sustainable Sector,” Jane Hupe showcased the recent milestones in ICAO’s journey toward aviation’s clean energy transition and highlighted the different key building blocks of the ICAO roadmap of actions for the implementation of the of the ICAO Global Framework for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF) and other Aviation Cleaner Energies.
Alongside Ms. Hupe, the panel was composed of Dr. Marie Owens Thomsen (Senior Vice President Sustainability & Chief Economist at IATA), Mr. Carlos Mauricio García (Corporate Affairs Policy and Standards Manager at Qatar Airways) and Mr. Rachid Rahim (Head of Aviation Environmental Protection at Qatar Civil Aviation Authority – QCAA), moderated by Mr. Mohammed Al Marzooqi (Director of the President’s Office at the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority – QCAA).
ICAO participated in a side-event organized by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on “Leveraging Postal Networks to Influence Global Freight Emissions”, where Jane Hupe highlighted how ICAO’s and the aviation sector’s efforts in decarbonizing international aviation can support the decarbonization of the global postal network. Alongside Ms. Hupe, the panel was composed of Ms. Elisabeth Türk, Director, Economic Cooperation and Trade, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Ms. Celine Bacrot, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Trade Logistics Branch, Division on Technology and Logistics, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Mr. Isi Mustafayev, Acting Chairman of the Board, Azerpost LLC, Mr. Siva Somasundram, Director of Policy, Regulation & Markets, Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Mr. Nicolas Peltier-Thiberge, Global Director, Transport, World Bank (with a video message).
ICAO then joined a panel organized by Deloitte on the “Future of low-carbon fuels: Driving decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors,” where Jane Hupe emphasized the need for developing and deploying lower-carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) alongside sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), while underscoring the importance of ensuring that such development is economically feasible, cost-effective, socially and environmentally acceptable, and in accordance with national circumstances.
To conclude Energy Day, ICAO collaborated with IATA and World Bank on a side-event titled “A pragmatic way towards carbon neutral growth in international aviation,” where Jane Hupe provided an update on the implementation of the ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and explained its relation with the development of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on international carbon markets. The event was moderated by Mr. Ethiopis Tafara (Vice President & Chief Finance, Risk, Legal and Sustainability Officer, MIGA). Ms. Hupe was joined on the panel by Dr. Marie Owens Thomsen (Senior Vice President Sustainability & Chief Economist at IATA), Mr. John Melby (Chief Executive Officer, Xpansiv), and by Ms. Deniz Dastan (Corporate Sustainability Manager, Turkish Airlines). The web-streaming of the event is available by clicking here.
On 20 November during the “Transport Day” of COP29, ICAO organized and participated in a series of high-level events that highlighted how the recent progress in addressing emissions from international aviation contributes to the global efforts towards decarbonization.
ICAO collaborated with the COP29 Azerbaijan Presidency and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in organizing Transport Day’s paramount event on “International Aviation and Climate Change” that brought together high-level stakeholders, including government representatives, industry leaders, environmental experts, and financial investors to share their perspectives and identify the highest priorities to achieve the Long-term Global Aspirational Goal (LTAG) for international aviation of Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The Presidency event debuted with opening remarks by Ms. Jane Hupe, Envoy of ICAO Secretary-General to UNFCCC COP, as well as by Mr. Elmin Mammadov (Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Republic of Azerbaijan) and by Mr. Mohammad Altayyar (Program Director in the Ministry of Energy, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).
The event then continued with a high-level panel moderated by Ms. Hupe, which included the active contribution of Mr. Nazim Ziyadov (Deputy Director, Azerbaijan Civil Aviation Agency), Mr. Samir Rzayev (President, Azerbaijan Airlines), Dr. Marie Owens Thomsen (SVP of Sustainability and Chief Economist, IATA), Mr. Haldane Dodd (Executive Director of the Air Transport Action Group, ATAG), Mr. James Leather (Director of Transport, Asian Development Bank), Dr. Sergey V. Kravchenko (Visiting Professor and a Fellow at the Sustainable Aviation Institute, Imperial College, London) and Mr. Musaab Mohamed Almulla (Vice President of Energy and Economic Insights, Saudi Aramco).
ICAO also joined forces at COP29 with two other United Nations organizations responsible for transport – the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) – to organize a side-event titled “Decarbonizing Transport: Policies and Strategies for civil aviation, maritime and inland transport.” This event highlighted the recent progress made by ICAO, IMO and UNECE in addressing the impact of their transport sectors on climate change, and it showcased how our Member States and key stakeholders are contributing to actions necessary to achieve carbon neutrality. The event debuted with keynote remarks in the form of video messages from the heads of all three organizations, including by ICAO Secretary-General, Mr. Juan Carlos Salazar, which can be accessed by clicking here.
Ms. Hupe further presented the ICAO mandate on emissions from international aviation and key progress on the development, deployment and production of SAF around the globe, and then moderated a specific session aviation which included the participation of Mr. Daniel Ng (Chief Sustainability Officer, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore – CAAS) and Dr. Marie Owens Thomsen (SVP of Sustainability and Chief Economist, IATA).
Transport Day was also highlighted by a key “Aviation Panel discussion on Scaling Up Sustainable Aviation Fuel” organized by the Singapore Pavilion. Ms. Hupe participated in the panel and showcased the efforts deployed by ICAO and our 193 Member States in implementing the ICAO Global Framework. She pointed to how States and stakeholders can work together to achieve the collective global aspirational vision to reduce CO2 emissions in international aviation by 5 per cent by 2030 through the use of SAF, LCAF and other aviation cleaner energies.
Ms. Hupe also presented the implementation support being offered to States under the ICAO ACT-SAF Programme, as well as the operationalization of the ICAO Finvest Hub. The Aviation Panel on SAF was moderated by Mr. Daniel Ng (Chief Sustainability Officer, CAA of Singapore) and Ms. Hupe was accompanied on the panel by Dr. Marie Owens Thomsen (SVP of Sustainability and Chief Economist, IATA) and by Mr. Frederic Teo (CEO at GenZero). For the complete discussion from the aviation panel, the event web-streaming is available by clicking here.
ICAO also participated in the “Airport Climate Action Showcase,” an event organized by ACI World and Heydar Aliyev International Airport that brought together leading figures in the global air transport industry. At the event, Ms. Jane Hupe joined the discussion on the current momentum for airport climate action, which is a significant contribution to the global efforts to ensure a sustainable future for the aviation sector. The other industry leaders present were Mr. Justin Erbacci (Director General, ACI World), Mr. Olivier Jankovec (Director General of ACI Europe), Mr. Haldane Dodd (Executive Director, ATAG) and Mr. Samir Rzayev (President of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC – AZAL).
ICAO participated in an event organized by Deloitte at the Canadian Pavilion titled “Towards a Greener Future: Sustainable Transportation in Canada,” where Ms. Hupe provided ICAO’s perspective on the roundtable dialogue that focused on the requirements to attract investment to green transportation in Canada, with an emphasis on SAF production. Topics discussed touched on policy support mechanisms, financial incentives, renewable energy and feedstock availability, book and claim systems, and access to jet fuel infrastructure.
The discussion was moderated by Dr. Bernhard Lorentz (Global Consulting Services Sustainability & Climate Leader at Deloitte), and further included participation from Ms. Paula Vieira (Director General Environmental Policy, Transport Canada), Mr. Volker Ratzmann (Executive Vice President, Corporate Public Affairs, DHL Global) and Ms. Asmara Klein (Head of Strategic Policy Partnerships, Topsoe).
In addition, ICAO took part in the “Sustainable Skies: Charting the Course for Aviation Fuel in Emerging Markets” event organized by Topsoe, where Ms. Jane Hupe provided a keynote address highlighting the critical role of SAF in achieving Net-Zero 2050, as well as the different feasibility studies on SAF development being undertaken under the ICAO ACT-SAF Programme.
Finally, ICAO partnered with Silk Way West Airlines, the Official Global Air Cargo Partner for COP29, in an event on “Sustainable Solutions in Logistics”, where Ms. Jane Hupe joined Mr. Bahruz Malikov (Deputy Director, State Civil Aviation Agency, Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of the Republic of Azerbaijan) and Dr. Marie Owens Thomsen (SVP of Sustainability and Chief Economist, IATA) and other panelists in a discussion on sustainable aviation. Ms. Hupe took this opportunity to present the ICAO Global Framework to the panelists and emphasized the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders in the aviation industry to achieve Net-Zero 2050.
