The world celebrates International Civil Aviation Day on 7th December each year, as the sector is a major driver of sustainable economic development. The sector is witnessing significant development in terms of starting procedures and taking steps towards its transition into a ‘green’ sector.
Civil aviation is one of the most developed and successful sectors in the world. It continues to grow and thrive by adopting the best sustainability solutions to transition to a green and sustainable aviation sector and achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 in line with global targets for achieving climate neutrality and protecting the environment.
The 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP28), which is currently being held in Expo City Dubai until 12th December, has strengthened the presence of the aviation sector in all its fields, including civil aviation and its industries, through holding workshops and qualitative sessions aimed at raising awareness about reducing the sector’s impact on the environmen
t, creating partnerships in this framework, and building on the latest innovations that support the sector and the global environmental and climate movement.
Among these events, the World Climate Impact Hub hosted the Global Sustainable Aviation Forum, organised by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG). The forum launched the new level 5 of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme to support clean energy sources in the aviation sector and establish regulatory frameworks that facilitate the transition of airports to cleaner energy by the Airports Council International (ACI).
The Airport Carbon Accreditation programme is the only institutionally accredited global programme for issuing carbon management certificates for airports. It currently includes more than 555 airports that are actively working to reduce their emissions.
As part of the inclusion of the work of the aviation sector within the climate action agenda at COP28, the UAE continues its leadership in this vital sector by working to bring togethe
r decision-makers, communities, and countries to start taking concrete steps that support global sustainable development efforts and ensure the sustainability of sectors, including the aviation sector, for future generations.
In this context, the UAE is exerting remarkable efforts to develop and improve all components of the civil aviation sector, which contributes more than 13 percent to the country’s GDP. This percentage is expected to grow and reach 170 percent over the next two decades to support 1.4 million jobs and contribute AED470 billion (US$128 billion) to the UAE’s economy.
The UAE remains a pioneer in terms of adopting sustainability solutions, as it recorded a historic achievement last November after Emirates became the first airline in the world to operate a test flight of an A380 using 100 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Sustainable Aviation Fuel can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85 percent over the fuel’s life cycle compared to conventional jet fuel.
Source: Emirates News Agen
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