ECAC Environmental Forum/4
19-21 January 2021 - The fourth ECAC Environmental Forum held over three days this month explored a broad range of topics, beginning with a long-term aspirational goal for civil aviation.
Environment experts attend fourth ECAC Environmental Forum
The fourth annual ECAC Environmental Forum, organised virtually this year, explored a broad range of topics, beginning with a long-term aspirational goal for international aviation that featured an introductory scientific presentation and a review of the decarbonisation commitments already taken by stakeholders, States and organisations (including ATAG, ICAO, OECD-ITF). Recent significant developments on the non-CO2 impacts of aviation, including a set of concrete proposals for mitigation actions, were also presented and discussed.
The meeting attracted 170 environment experts from a wide spectrum of stakeholders and geographical scope, and was launched with an opening address by ECAC Focal Point for Environment matters, Rannia Leontaridi, Director General for Civil Aviation, United Kingdom, and chaired this year by Michael Lunter (Netherlands).
CORSIA was the focus of the Forum's usual exchange of practical experience, and for the first time ECAC's three sister regional organisations, ACAO, AFCAC and LACAC, and Singapore, were represented and shared their experiences.
A closed session for European members only was held in the morning of the last day. The afternoon open session featured presentations on ambitious policies in support of hydrogen in aviation (including e-fuels). The main part of this session was dedicated to improving the mutual understanding of the respective environmental priorities of ECAC's partners, notably Canada and the United States, as well as organisations (EASA, EUROCONTROL and ICAO) and some ECAC Member States (Ukraine and United Kingdom).
The fifth Environmental Forum is scheduled to take place at the end of the year.