Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a UN specialised agency, established by Member States in 1944 to manage the administration and governance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention). Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are one element of the ICAO basket of measures to reduce aviation emissions, which also includes technology and standards, operational improvements, and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

In its Resolution A40-18 (2019), the ICAO Assembly acknowledged the need for SAF to be developed and deployed in an economically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable manner. This would entail requested States to recognise existing approaches to assess the sustainability of all alternative fuels in general, including those for use in aviation. These approaches should achieve net GHG emissions reduction on a life cycle basis; respect the areas of high importance for biodiversity, conservation and benefits for people from ecosystems, in accordance with international and national regulations; and contribute to local social and economic development, while competition with food and water should be avoided as much as possible.

At this time, ICAO is pursuing the requests from Assembly related to SAF in various fonts which include:

- ICAO GFAAF - The ICAO Global Framework for Aviation and Alternative Fuels (GFAAF)

- 2050 ICAO VISION - the Second ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/2)

- ICAO STOCKTAKING PROCESS

The possible contribution of SAF to the ICAO environmental goals is also being assessed by CAEP as part of the ICAO Global Environmental SAF Trends.