State Action Plan for CO₂ Emissions Reduction

Another good example of the value of International Cooperation programmes is the support provided to develop a first or subsequent edition of a State Action Plan for CO₂ emissions reduction from International Aviation. The State Action Plan is a document developed by the State putting together all the reduction measures that the State and the aviation stakeholders in the country expect to implement in the years to come. The document is submitted to ICAO every three years, informing on the current emission baseline and the expected reductions and allowing ICAO to aggregate the information from all countries to build a global view. At State level, the compilation of the State Action Plan for CO₂ emissions reduction provides the opportunity to develop a collaborative, structured and data driven process between the State and the aviation stakeholders.

As of 2024, 148 States had submitted at least the 1st Edition of their State Action Plan for CO₂ emissions reduction to ICAO 

. The information provided in the State Action Plans on a CO₂ emissions baseline, mitigating measures and estimated CO₂ reductions, was invaluable to inform the discussions on the Long-Term Aspiration Goal (LTAG) during the 41^st ICAO General Assembly and will be a key input in monitoring the progress towards this goal over time.

During the period 2022-2024, European cooperation initiatives have supported or engaged with 22 States, resulting in 14 first editions and 4 updates of previous State Action Plans, all of which were submitted to ICAO in that timeframe.

In the case of State Action Plans, most of the support has been delivered through EU funded projects either implemented by EASA or by ICAO. The approach taken to support the States has encompassed:

• Provision of training to State Authorities and to their aviation stakeholders on the use of ICAO statistical forms (M, A and C) and on the methods for calculating the baseline emissions;
• Facilitating technical discussions with aviation stakeholders on mitigating measures and the estimation of CO₂ emission reductions, as well as monitoring methodologies; and
• Assisting in the shaping of the final State Action Plan document, when needed.

The use of the ICAO Document 9988 

and other available material, has been essential in providing harmonised support as well as consistent tools and methods across all the Partner States.

While support has been primarily technical in nature, the most appreciated element has been facilitating the establishment of the State Action Plan as a collaborative and continuing process between the State Authorities and their aviation stakeholders.