{"id":4990,"date":"2023-11-23T16:55:56","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T16:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=4990"},"modified":"2023-12-20T17:33:41","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T17:33:41","slug":"governments-gather-to-seek-agreement-on-a-global-framework-for-aviations-energy-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=4990","title":{"rendered":"Governments gather to seek agreement on a global framework for aviation\u2019s energy transition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In what ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano described as the UN civil aviation agency\u2019s most important event of the year, countries are convening this week in Dubai to agree a global framework on a cleaner energy future for aviation. The purpose of the Conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels (CAAF\/3) is to steer policy direction and financing to aid the rapid shift towards new forms of sustainable energy, in particular sustainable aviation fuels, to meet ICAO\u2019s Long Term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) of net zero carbon emissions from international aviation by 2050. Sciacchitano said it would be a massive task that required immediate collective action. SAF production remains largely confined to Europe and the USA but the collective global target will require huge support and investment for energy transition in the developing world. The week-long meeting has been marked with an Emirates A380 demonstration flight with one engine powered by 100% SAF.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe must urgently scale up the development and deployment of sustainable, lower carbon and other clean energy aviation fuels in order to meet the sustainability expectations of both the world and the stakeholders,\u201d said Sciacchitano in his opening address at CAAF\/3<\/a>. \u201cWe have a massive task ahead of us this week as we deliberate on the ICAO Global Framework for aviation\u2019s cleaner energy transition, a key step for the sustainable development of air transport. ICAO\u2019s main priority is the implementation and achievement of LTAG. To do this, we need to take collective action now and CAAF\/3 can be instrumental in laying the building blocks in terms of policy and planning, regulatory framework adjustments, implementation support and financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is also an opportunity for States to demonstrate strong leadership in addressing international aviation emissions just before the UN\u2019s COP28 climate change conference also taking place here in the UAE. A successful, robust and ambitious global framework can only serve to shine a bright spotlight on the shared efforts and commitment to decarbonising our sector. We have a great opportunity to show and communicate to the world that aviation is seriously and strongly committed to decarbonise by 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a video address, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said aviation was one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, \u201cbut with innovation and investment, it can be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cA net-zero aviation sector means cleaner energy sources on a global scale. It means economic policies and regulations that can support a just and equitable transition while attracting investors, and it means measures such as carbon pricing, low-carbon fuel standards and subsidies for sustainable aviation fuels. The global framework emerging from this conference is a critical step towards a clean and prosperous future for this vital sector. By moving at jet speed you can speed up the clean energy revolution our world needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the upcoming COP28, now is the time to turn ambition into concrete action to find ways to deliver on your net zero target and shape a better, cleaner future for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CAAF meetings take place only on a six-year basis, the first held in Brazil in 2009, and CAAF\/3 is the culmination of a series of stocktaking and pre-CAAF\/3 conferences and consultations to prepare the ground for a \u20182050 ICAO Vision\u2019 for SAF, lower carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and other aviation cleaner energy sources in order to define a global framework in line with ICAO\u2019s \u2018No Country Left Behind\u2019 initiative that takes into account national circumstances and capabilities. SAF, LCAF and other aviation cleaner energies are expected to make the largest contribution towards achieving the LTAG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2050 Vision acknowledges that no single fuel source will be produced at a level necessary to achieve the LTAG and so the framework needs to be flexible and not exclude any particular fuel source, pathway, feedstock or technology that meets the CORSIA eligible fuels criteria, says ICAO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since earlier this year, a Small Group for Preparations for CAAF\/3, under the Climate and Environment Committee (CEC) of ICAO\u2019s governing Council, has been considering possible CAAF\/3 outcomes, including a draft global framework<\/a>. The framework is built across four interconnected building blocks that need to advance and work together: policy and planning; regulatory frameworks; implementation support; and financing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there has been general convergence on the Vision, some differences remain around aviation cleaner energies and financing, which will be discussed during the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of States want to see CAAF\/3 emerge with a quantified goal in order to send a political signal of support for sustainable fuels that could unlock private sector investment around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reason why investors need this outcome is that it is crucial to assuring the durability of their investments,\u201d US government representative Annie Petsonk said during an opening panel session. \u201cIf they are going to make the major investments that allow SAF to be produced in refineries and to develop the required feedstocks and supply chains, they want to see governments are serious about this transition. Through informal consultations I have had already, I am very hopeful that I will be able to communicate a positive outcome to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US is also supporting the creation of the ICAO Fin<\/a>v<\/a>est Hub<\/a>, which aims to act as a facilitating platform to connect projects contributing to the decarbonisation of international aviation, including feedstock and SAF production, with potential public and private investors. A priority of the initiative would be to support developing countries and those with special needs in financing aviation decarbonisation projects. It would also offer technical assistance, capacity building and guidance on the development of legal and policy frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Industry is also represented at CAAF\/3 and has a similar wish list. \u201cThere are two key outcomes we would like to see from the conference: a goal for SAF deployment that can provide investment certainty to the finance markets and influence policy actions around the world, and a supportive global framework that will ensure countries everywhere can take advantage of the opportunities to build new energy industries and secure jobs in supplying SAF,\u201d said Haldane Dodd, Executive Director of the cross-industry Air Transport Action Group (ATAG).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ATAG says<\/a> the transition to SAF is already underway, with policy measures being implemented or discussed in around 40 countries, with $45 billion in forward SAF purchase agreements in place with airlines, operators and corporate partners. Ten facilities are currently producing SAF, it says, but by 2029 over 150 projects in 35 countries are being explored that could be used for SAF production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe SAF scale-up has begun,\u201d said Dodd. \u201cOver 10 times more SAF was delivered to airlines in 2022 than in 2019. That pace of development will continue but needs to accelerate significantly to keep in line with the industry\u2019s path to net zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThree things are needed to make the aviation energy transition happen: government policy to support supply and create certainty for demand; financing of the potentially $1.5 trillion in infrastructure capital needed to supply SAF at the scale required; and a serious effort by the traditional energy sector to shift their products from fossil to sustainable fuels. We believe the CAAF\/3 meeting can set the scene for these developments and help catalyse the transition in aviation. These are tough decisions and complex challenges, but necessary ones to progress as climate change makes its impacts felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA global framework from CAAF\/3 will help capacity building and access to finance so that countries everywhere can build SAF industries of their own. Enormous value can be created in diversifying and democratising energy supply if governments grasp the opportunities ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Added Laurent Donceel, Deputy Managing Director of Airlines for Europe (A4E<\/a>): \u201cThe future of aviation depends on sustainable aviation fuels and it is critical the CAAF\/3 meeting produces a global agreement for a net-zero aviation with realistic targets to promote the use of SAF. Global investments in SAF and boosting the energy transition in aviation will create a bounty of jobs and growth around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEurope and the USA are accelerating down the runway towards a more sustainable future so it\u2019s critically important that the rest of the world keeps up and delivers a truly net zero aviation industry. CAAF\/3 is an ideal opportunity to set this in stone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental NGOs belonging to the International Coalition on Sustainable Aviation have called on the meeting \u201cto adopt a global aspirational quantified objective for 2050 and an aspirational trajectory that are consistent with the Paris Agreement temperature goals, and that prioritise the environmental and social integrity of alternative fuels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting the goal, they say, requires adopting, primarily, a metric that focuses on the carbon intensity of alternative fuels on a lifecycle basis, consistent with CORSIA eligible fuels methodology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA successful outcome requires focusing on defining an ambitious vision that prioritises the environmental and social integrity of alternative fuels and therefore avoids trading an environmental threat for another,\u201d said a statement<\/a> presented at CAAF\/3. \u201cThe focus should always be on quality rather than quantity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to a robust sustainability standard, said the NGOs, CAAF\/3 should emphasise transparency to ensure alternative fuels are accurately reported and accounted for, with the avoidance of double counting critical for integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement notes that whereas the CAAF\/2 vision focused solely on sustainable aviation fuels, the scope for CAAF\/3 has been expanded to cover not only other cleaner energy sources such as cryogenic hydrogen and electricity, but also lower carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) of fossil origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cICSA believes that while LCAF may have potentially lower carbon emissions on a lifecycle basis, all fuels of fossil origin must, by definition, be regarded as unsustainable. The CAAF\/3 Vision should avoid the use of encompassing terms such as \u2018sustainable fuels\u2019 and instead use suitable terms such as \u2018alternative fuels\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To coincide with CAAF\/3, Emirates this week has become the first airline to operate an A380 demonstration flight using 100% SAF<\/a>. In a collaboration with Airbus, Engine Alliance, Pratt & Whitney, ENOC, Neste and Virent, the Emirates aircraft took off from Dubai International Airport with one of its four engines powered on 100% SAF. The flight carried four tonnes of SAF, comprised of HEFA-SPK provided by Neste and HDO-SAK (hydro deoxygenated synthetic aromatic kerosene) from Virent. ENOC helped to secure the neat SAF comprised of HEFA-SPK and blended it with SAK at its facility in the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 100% SAF was used in one Engine Alliance GP7200 engine, while conventional jet fuel was used in the other three engines. The PW980 auxiliary power unit from Pratt & Whitney Canada also ran on 100% SAF. The flight on November 22 was preceded by robust engine testing, with the objective of validating the engine\u2019s capability to run on the specially blended 100% drop-in SAF without affecting its performance or requiring modifications. Ground engine testing took place at the Emirates Engineering Centre in Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Emirates completed the first 100% SAF-powered demonstration flight in the region on a GE90-powered Boeing 777-300ER. Shell has supplied Emirates with 315,000 gallons of blended SAF for use at Dubai and the airline currently uplifts SAF in Norway and France. Emirates recently expanded its partnership with Neste for the supply of over 3 million gallons of blended SAF in 2024 and 2025 for flights departing from Amsterdam Schiphol and Singapore Changi airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe growing global demand for lower-emission jet fuel alternatives is there, and the work of producers and suppliers to commercialise SAF and make it available will be critical in the coming years to help Emirates and the wider industry advance our path to lower carbon emissions,\u201d commented Adel Al Redha, COO, Emirates Airline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Videos of the CAAF\/3 proceedings are available on ICAO TV<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Top photo: ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano addresses CAAF\/3<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emirates A380 100% SAF demonstration flight:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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