Noise and local air quality
In the area of aircraft noise, the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) developed an exploratory study to better understand the environmental impacts from the introduction of supersonic aircraft. Work is also ongoing to identify possible environmental issues from emerging technology aircraft, including urban air mobility concepts, and a
website has been set up outlining States’ experiences and innovations.
With regard to aircraft emissions, CAEP developed proposed amendments to Annex 16 —
Environmental Protection, Volume II —
Aircraft Engine Emissions and Volume III —
Aeroplane CO2 Emissions, and endorsed no-change criteria for non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) mass and number standards. The ICAO Engine Emissions Databank (EEDB) was updated, and work is under way to develop an ICAO CO2 Certification Database (CO2DB).
To raise awareness of and mobilize global action to address air pollution, which represents one of the biggest threats to human health, the United Nations General Assembly designated 7 September as the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. In 2021, ICAO marked the occasion by promoting its environmental goal to limit or reduce the impact of aviation emissions on local air quality, and its subsequent work to develop technologically feasible, environmentally beneficial and economically reasonable Standards, as contained in Annex 16, Volume II.
