A State Action Plan is a document that outlines how a State plans to reduce CO₂ emissions from international civil aviation. Within the State, it serves as a planning and coordination tool, helping align national efforts across different stakeholders. It also acts as a formal channel of communication with ICAO. Because of its role in coordination, a State Action Plan should be treated as a living document, regularly reviewed and updated.
For States, in addition to voluntarily reporting their CO₂ emissions from international aviation, the updated Action Plan can include roadmaps for the development and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), Low-Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF), and other cleaner energy sources, along with quantified actions to support these efforts. From the ICAO perspective, beyond tracking global progress toward its aspirational goals, the State Action Plans help ICAO to understand States’ specific needs and provide targeted support, such as feasibility studies, customized training, implementation support, and even facilitating access to financing.
ICAO launched the State Action Plan initiative in 2010 with the adoption of Assembly Resolution A37-19. This initiative encourages all ICAO Member States to develop a long-term strategy on climate change for international aviation, involving all relevant national stakeholders. Since then, this initiative has become one of ICAO’s most successful programs, and it has been reaffirmed by subsequent Assembly Resolutions: A38-18, A39-2, A40-18, and A41-21. The latest Assembly Resolution provides clear guidance for states to:
- To submit and update their voluntary action plans, outlining policies, actions and roadmaps, including long-term emissions projections,
- To prepare or update their SAPs and submit them to ICAO and then at least every three years, and
- To share information from their action plans and build partnerships with other Member States.
APAC organized the 2025 ICAO (PSIDS) Workshop on State Action Plan (SAP) to Reduce CO2 Emissions from International Aviation that has been held in Nadi, Fiji on 11 up to 15 August 2025. The goal was to support States in the preparation, updating, and submission of their State Action Plans (SAPs) to reduce CO2 emissions from international aviation particularly in PSIDS region.
Workshop outcomes
The 30 participants that attended represented civil aviation authorities, aeroplane operators, airport operators, and air navigation service providers from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tonga. Technical assistance was provided to support States in the development of their SAPs, including practical training on ICAO’s supporting tools such as the Environmental Benefit Tool (EBT), ICAO Carbon Emissions Calculator (ICEC), and CORSIA CO2 Estimation and Reporting Tool (CERT). Participants were equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to update their SAPs in line with the latest revision of ICAO Document 9988.
All participating States from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tonga have successfully updated their SAPs, incorporated the five minimum elements and detailed the assistance required to implement their selected mitigation measures.
The Workshop also included updates on CORSIA implementation, the ICAO ACT-SAF programme and ACT-CORSIA Buddy Partnership Program. Kiribati and Tonga successfully subscribed to the ACT-SAF programme during the event.
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands were supported and encouraged to submit their 2024 CO2 emission report to CCR as soon as possible.
The Workshop further promoted continued engagement with ICAO and strengthened regional cooperation to enhance capacity and advance the ICAO’s environmental protection efforts.
During the workshop, 9 (nine) presentations have been delivered by APAC, and 5 (five) presentation have been presented by States. For more information on this meeting, click here.
Follow-up actions
Participants acknowledged the value of the in-person workshop and the benefits of hands-on technical assistance. All participating States expressed interest in future SAP Workshops, with Papua New Guinea offering to host the next Workshop.
The participating States will finalize their draft updated SAPs – including conducting stakeholder consultations where needed – and are committed to submitting the final versions ICAO via the APER Portal by September 2025. The ICAO APAC Office will continue provide remote one-on-one support needed by States.
Conclusion
The APAC Regional Office also continue to play a role in advancing ICAO’s environmental objectives across the PSIDS region. Through sustained collaboration and capacity-building through this workshop, the APAC Regional Office will continue to support States in developing and updating State Action Plan for achieving meaningful progress on SAP submission. Looking ahead, the focus remains on strengthening implementation and fostering regional action toward ICAO’s global environmental goals.
