ICAO signs agreement with IRENA to boost finance opportunities for SAF production

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has signed an agreement with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to boost financing opportunities for sustainable aviation fuels and other cleaner aviation energy projects. The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed at the recent G20 Energy Ministerial meeting in Brazil and will allow the exploration of pathways to operationalise the ICAO Finvest Hub by facilitating the identification of financial resources for scaling up SAF, lower carbon aviation fuels (LCAF) and other cleaner energy solutions. ICAO estimates that around $3.2 trillion in investments will be needed for cleaner aviation fuel production alone if its long-term aspirational goal (LTAG) of net zero emissions from international aviation by 2050 is to be achieved. ICAO is an active participant at the COP29 climate meeting, which starts today in Baku, with the UN agency’s Council President addressing a side event.

While its Assistance, Capacity-building and Training for SAF (ACT-SAF) programme already provides implementation support such as initial feasibility and economic studies, ICAO says it Finvest Hub, launched last year at its CAAF/3 conference in Dubai, is expected to play a crucial role in facilitating the matchmaking between the financing needs of project developers and the financing priorities of States, multilateral development banks and private financers. As well as acting as a platform to connect projects with potential public and private investors, the Finvest Hub aims to facilitate funding from financial institutions, encourage new and additional funding, and support developing countries and States with particular needs.

“The aviation clean energy transition is fundamental to achieving our net-zero long-term aspirational goal, as it has the potential to contribute to the majority of required emissions reductions,” said ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar, commenting on the MoC with IRENA, the lead intergovernmental agency for the global energy transformation to a sustainable energy future. “This new cooperation is an opportunity to accelerate the energy transition of the aviation sector worldwide. ICAO is fully committed to supporting the four building blocks needed to achieve this goal – policy and planning, regulatory frameworks, implementation support and financing.”

Responded Francesco La Camera, IRENA Director-General: “Through the IRENA Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) Platform, we find climate finance solutions dedicated to advancing the global energy transition by facilitating investment. The transition needs all hands on deck and this cooperation is a clear expression of it.”

The ETAF platform is backed by the United Arab Emirates and alongside financial support from the OPEC Fund, has mobilised commitments amounting to $1.15 billion.

The ICAO Secretary General also met last month with senior representatives from multilateral development banks and other high-level officials in Washington DC to promote the Finvest Hub. The discussions were held alongside annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He and ICAO’s Legal Affairs and External Relations Director, Michael Gill, also held direct meetings with officials from the World Bank, IMF, the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and also with industry body Airlines for America.

At a roundtable held during the G20 meeting, Salazar said 330 facilities globally are now producing SAF, with 125 airports distributing it, and more than 50 billion litres of SAF are covered by offtake agreements. He reported over 40 national or regional policies on SAF have been adopted or are under development and over 40 SAF feedstocks are now recognised under ICAO’s CORSIA scheme.

Through the global framework agreed at CAAF/3 (the third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels) a year ago, ICAO and its member states “will strive to reduce international aviation CO2 emissions by 5% by 2030 through the use of aviation cleaner energies,” said Salazar.

In a keynote at a roundtable held during the Washington DC meetings, Annie Petsonk, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the US Department of Transportation, reaffirmed US support for the CAAF/3 outcomes.

ICAO is participating in a number of aviation-related events at COP29, which starts today (November 11) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and has a dedicated COP29 page on its website. It is hosting a briefing session today in the SDG Pavilion, ‘Implementing a clean energy transition for international aviation in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals’, which will include a keynote address by the ICAO Council President, Salvatore Sciacchitano, a premiere presentation of a video on climate change to mark ICAO’s 80^th anniversary and an ACT-SAF signing with an ICAO member state. It will also include an overview of ICAO progress on international aviation and climate change by Jane Hupe, who heads ICAO’s environmental protection and climate activities, and a State perspective on clean energy and capacity building for international aviation by a representative from the host country’s government.

The UN agency will also take part in a number of events on Energy Day (Friday 15 November) and Transport Day (Wednesday 20 November). Its COP29 page will be updated regularly during the two-week course of the climate meeting.

Photo: ICAO

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

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