The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has told the 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that a set of global standards have to be implemented to drive a sustainable future for the industry.

As the ICAO opened yesterday, IATA’s director general Willie Walsh spelt out the Association’s areas of concerns which it believes need to be addressed of the sector is to deliver on its aims around carbon emissions and sustainability.

“Global standards are at the core of a safe, efficient, and sustainable air transport industry,” he said. “This ICAO Assembly has enormous opportunities to advance aviation’s decarbonisation, prepare the industry for the next pandemic, advance gender diversity, improve accessible air travel and enable standard setting to keep pace with technology. We look forward to states rising to these and other challenges before the Assembly.

“Agreement, however, is only half the solution. Decisions made at the Assembly need to be implemented. The fact that we have a multitude of environment taxes when CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) was agreed to be the single global economic measure to manage international emissions illustrates the importance of effective implementation.”

IATA said it wanted to see the assembly:

Agreeing a Long-term Aspirational Goal (LTAG) for the decarbonization of international aviation in line with the aviation industry’s commitment to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

Strengthening the landmark Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) as the single economic measure used by governments to manage aviation’s carbon footprint.

Implementing lessons learned from the economically and socially painful destruction of global connectivity that resulted from government attempts to control the spread of COVID-19.

“The industry’s expectations for the 41st ICAO Assembly are ambitious but realistic given the challenges that we face. For example, governments must learn the lessons of COVID-19 so that the next pandemic does not result in closed borders bringing social and economic hardship,” Walsh continued. “We also need governments to support the industry’s commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 with their own commitment and corresponding policy measures on decarbonization. The right decisions by governments can accelerate the recovery from COVID-19 and strengthen the foundations for aviation’s decarbonisation.”

On the driver to a sustainable suture IATA added: “As Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is at the core of aviation’s energy transition and is expected to deliver some 65% of carbon mitigation by 2050, IATA calls on governments for coordinated policy measures to incentivize production. IATA is also calling for the establishment of a global “book and claim “system to enable the most efficient uptake of SAF by airlines.”

The association has also called on governments to be better prepared for future health emergencies and to avoid “the fragmented response” to COVID-19. Where COVID-19 measures are still in place, these must be reviewed considering lessons learned during COVID-19 and evaluated against global best practices, it added.

“Global standards are at the core of a safe, efficient, and sustainable air transport industry, this ICAO Assembly has enormous opportunities to advance aviation’s decarbonisation, prepare the industry for the next pandemic, advance gender diversity, improve accessible air travel and enable standard setting to keep pace with technology.”

Willie Walsh, IATA