A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL

Kurt Edwards 

At the 40th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization in September-October, the global civil aviation community recognized efforts by the business aviation sector to develop awareness of the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), as presented by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) on behalf  of the SAF coalition of associations, manufacturers, and fuel producers.  The Assembly also endorsed IBAC’s call for ICAO to facilitate and States to implement positive incentive policies to encourage the production and use of SAF in greater quantities, which is critical to reducing carbon emissions.

IBAC also joined with the broader range of industry players on a number of matters where we had collective success:
Over the next three years, the ICAO Council will direct work on the development of a long-term climate change goal to be considered by the next Assembly in 2022, work in which industry will play an important role.

The Assembly underscored once more the importance of a data-driven approach when developing noise and emissions standards for supersonic aircraft; and 
We secured support for further work on turboprop safety and for a focus within ICAO regional bodies to share best practices on air traffic management procedures and policies to allow for greater use of rotorcraft.

IBAC appreciated the participation of several member associations and an industry partner in our delegation to the Assembly: AsBAA (Chris Mosebach); BAOA of India (Rajesh Bali); NBAA (Doug Carr, Brian Koestler); and Bombardier (Leo Knaapen).  And, of course, thanks to Bruce Parry, the IBAC/EBAA Environment Director, for his expert guidance on what ended up being the key issues at the Assembly.  This was the first Assembly in which IBAC had delegates from beyond North America, and it made an impact.  Delegates from several States remarked about this in side conversations.  With increased participation, we are together raising the profile of business aviation at the global level!

I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas for the NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition October 22 through 24.  Please visit us at the IBAC booth (N2816) and join us at the events listed via the below link.

Source: www.mailchimp/ibac.com