With the adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, air transport was formally recognized for the first time as an enabler of sustainable development, and improvements in this sector should now be intrinsically related and embedded within global, regional and national development frameworks. ICAO is the only organization in the UN common system with aviation as a mandate and is actively engaged, in alignment with its Strategic Objectives, in supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by assisting its Member States in enhancing their air transport systems with a view to contributing, consequently, to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ICAO continued to participate, when applicable and in alignment with its Strategic Objectives, in appropriate mechanisms put in place to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, such as the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) and the Global Sustainable Transport Conference. Through these platforms, ICAO promotes the recognition and prioritization of aviation by Member States in their development plans.
The 39th Session of the Assembly reiterated that ICAO’s current Strategic Objectives continue to be strongly linked to the UN SDGs and adopted Resolution A39-25, “Aviation’s contribution towards the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” that recognized the contributions of ICAO-compliant air transport systems to the 2030 Agenda. This Resolution encourages States to implement ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), policies, plans and programmes that contribute ultimately to the realization of international development priorities, particularly the SDGs.
In 2016, it was recognized that the
No Country Left Behind (NCLB) initiative and the ICAO World Aviation Forum are instrumental to the realization of the 2030 Agenda. States have also been urged to include and elevate the priority of aviation in their national development plans and to support such plans with robust air transport sector strategic and civil aviation master plans.
The Organization is fully committed to continue working in close cooperation with States and other UN entities to support the SDGs and related targets. ICAO is an official observer on the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) and is the custodian agency of global indicator 9.1.2 “Passenger and freight volumes, by mode of transport” within the 2030 Agenda framework.
