UK announces funding for ICAO sustainability initiatives

To support States “at the beginning of their sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) journey” the United Kingdom (UK) has announced that it will be contributing CAD 750,000 to the ICAO Environment Fund for the conduct of SAF feasibility studies.

The announcement was made at a bilateral meeting on 26 September 2023 between UK Director General of Civil Aviation Dr. Rannia Leontaridi (pictured left) and ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar (pictured right), which took place in the context of a preparatory event for the Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3).

Earlier this month, the UK also decided to provide substantial SAF capacity building assistance to three recipient States, in support of ICAO’s Assistance, Capacity Building and Training for SAF (ACT-SAF) programme.

The announcement also builds on previous commitments by the UK to funding aviation security, gender equality, and the broader transformation of ICAO itself.

In particular, the UK has been providing additional generous voluntary contributions to ICAO’s Transformational Fund to facilitate the establishment of a global ambassadors programme and inspire a diverse new generation of aviators, in line with the call to action of the 2nd ICAO Global Aviation Gender Summit, and to transform ICAO so that the Organization is well-functioning, agile and responsive to meet future aviation challenges and opportunities. Further financial support was provided by the UK to ICAO’s aviation security and facilitation fund in support of that Strategic Objective.