This week, as the UN’s aviation agency convenes for its 42nd triennial Assembly to set global aviation policy, business aviation will have a champion among the representatives from 193 countries in ensuring the sector’s global importance is well understood.

At the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO’s) triennial meeting, Sept. 23 to Oct. 3, the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) – representing 15 organization stakeholders – will be the leading advocate for highlighting the sector’s leadership on sustainability, technology, mobility and other societal benefits to the national government leaders and other industry groups assembled in Montreal for the gathering, which has taken place every three years since 1947.

Importantly, this year’s triennial  will focus in part on sustainable aviation, including new standards for aircraft engines, a global approach to advanced air mobility (AAM) certification, and steps to further scale the production, availability and use of carbon-cutting fuels.

Since its last Assembly in 2022, ICAO has set stronger aircraft noise and emissions standards, held its first AAM symposium, launched the first global framework to scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and expanded financial support and tools to increase mobility in transport – all priorities for business aviation highlighted through the industry’s CLIMBING. FAST. advocacy campaign, of which IBAC is a founding member.

Launched in 2023, CLIMBING. FAST. educates policymakers, like those at this week’s ICAO triennial, on business aviation’s value to citizens, companies and communities globally, and the sector’s leadership through innovation to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“The upcoming ICAO assembly will be a key opportunity to educate decision-makers so they can understand the importance of business aviation as a world-leading industry that creates opportunity the world over,” IBAC Director General Kurt Edwards said.

Edwards noted the alignment between ICAO’s long-term emissions goals and the Business Aviation Commitment on Climate Change (BACCC), the industry’s unified commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions in the coming years.

IBAC and business aviation at large have been steadfast advocates for the BACCC, including its provisions outlining the roles SAF, advanced air mobility and other sustainability advances will play in achieving its aims.

The 42nd ICAO Assembly this week will consider proposals to:

• Endorse more stringent global standards on aircraft engine emissions and noise.
• Encourage collaboration between regulators, original equipment manufacturers, operators, and digital service providers to integrate new entrants, such as AAM, into the global aviation system.
• Provide further policy support to scale SAF production by agreeing on steps that build on the Global Framework for Sustainable Aviation Fuels that ICAO adopted in 2023.

In the coming days, additional summaries will detail the work before the ICAO Assembly, the advocacy by IBAC on behalf of business aviation and the ways in which the CLIMBING. FAST. message dovetails with the debate in Montreal.