A regional seminar of the European and North Atlantic Bureau of ICAO together with ACI EUROPE "Green Airports" is being held in Almaty as part of the ICAO Week in Kazakhstan.
The event is attended by Vice Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan Talgat Lastaev, Director of the European and North Atlantic Regional Office of ICAO (EUR/NAT) Nicholas Rallo, Director General of the International Council of Airports in Europe (ACI Europe) Olivier Yankovets, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan Saltanat Tompieva, Director General of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan Katalin Radu, as well as representatives of international civil aviation organizations, airports in Kazakhstan and Europe, airlines, as well as the oil and gas industry.
The ICAO Regional seminar "Green Airports" will allow discussing important areas related to the development of airports with low carbon dioxide emissions, with a special focus on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and the use of other environmentally friendly energy sources.
In his speech, Vice Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan Talgat Lastaev noted: "Kazakhstan actively supports the ACI Green Airports initiative aimed at minimizing the impact of aviation on the environment. Our country fulfills a number of international obligations, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. We are talking about our commitment to the ICAO goal of achieving net zero emissions from international flights by 2050 and are carrying out systematic work in these areas."
Nicholas Rallo, Director of the ICAO European and North Atlantic Regional Office (EUR/NAT), stressed in his speech: "One of the Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2060. This is a fairly ambitious goal, so timely actions by all parties involved are important. Climate change is a very serious challenge. These are not only important steps to work in terms of ecology, all this goes back to the goals of sustainable development. And this is especially important for landlocked countries. All countries should unite in solving this issue. Aviation is the driver that must work ahead of everyone."
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of the International Council of Airports in Europe (ACI Europe), said: "Aviation has a great impact on climate change issues. Airports around the world support a program to reduce emissions, and we are trying to reduce the carbon footprint by applying a large number of different measures. Nevertheless, there are a lot of challenges associated with this. Since we have more access to clean energy and the use of safer fuels, eco-friendly aviation fuel has taken a leading position. We see that some countries have already succeeded in this, but I urge all Central Asian countries to join in and do everything in accordance with the SAF policy" (SAF – Sustainable Aviation Fuel).
Saltanat Tompieva, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, stressed: "The Green Airports initiative is important for the sustainable development of the aviation industry. It is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of airports, which is especially important in the context of climate change. Switching to cleaner technologies, optimizing the use of resources and the introduction of renewable energy sources can significantly reduce the carbon footprint."
Director General of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan Katalin Radu: "The aviation authorities of Kazakhstan emphasize their commitment to the common goal of the global community to solve the problems facing the global aviation industry. "Green airports, the use of environmentally friendly aviation fuel, and renewable energy sources determine our course towards more sustainable development."
By supporting initiatives to reduce the environmental impact of civil aviation, the Republic of Kazakhstan fulfills a number of obligations by ratifying international agreements such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and others. In addition, at the 41st ICAO Assembly in 2022, the ICAO Council called on countries to adopt the ICAO initiative on the long-term goal of reducing CO2 emissions in international aviation (Doc 10178 – LTAG ICAO). The Republic of Kazakhstan, as a member of ICAO, supports this document and considers it necessary to hold such events to enhance the country's potential and share experiences with other States and organizations.
The purpose of the workshop is to raise awareness of topics related to clean energy sources for aviation, sustainable infrastructure, operational measures available in the regions to simplify the energy transition at airports, as well as adaptation measures to increase the resilience of airports to climate change.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/transport/press/news/details/878256