This week’s Aviation Green Recovery Seminar explored the ongoing work by ICAO and the aviation community towards green recovery. The event showcased the concrete measures in place to promote an open and inclusive environmentally sustainable future for international air transport, and provided a forum for discussing how the world’s green aviation future can be shaped
ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu opened the seminar, and reassured its speakers and guests that governments are continuing to collaborate with industry and civil society on the current ICAO environmental work programme and its priorities.
...the air transport network is still being highly relied upon by countries during the pandemic, and that its benefits would continue to support societies and economies everywhere.
“This includes all activities to limit and reduce aviation’s impacts on climate change, and the ongoing research into long-term targets for global CO2 produced by international flights,” she noted.
She also highlighted September’s ICAO Stocktaking Seminar on in-sector CO2 reductions as a good example of how momentum is being maintained in an effective and inclusive manner during COVID-19, and applauded its strong focus on innovation and determining a more sustainable path for air transport as it reconnects the world.
Participants to the seminar began discussions on the proposed near-, mid-, and long-term actions needed to ensure a greener recovery, and future, for international aviation.
“To do so you will need to holistically assess the technology, financing, infrastructure, policy, and many other perspectives this work engages,” Dr. Liu emphasized. Drawing attention to the continued reliance of the world on air transport to move perishable foods, medical supplies, and other urgent goods to where the world needs them most, Dr. Liu further noted that “the air transport network is still being highly relied upon by countries during the pandemic, and that its benefits would continue to support societies and economies everywhere.”
“How greenly and sustainably the aviation engine will deliver these benefits for future generations is the challenge before us today.”