The chief of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) called for urgently accelerating the development and deployment of sustainable lower-carbon clean fuels needed for the global aviation sector to reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The ICAO's third Conference on Alternative Aviation Fuels (CAAF/3), taking place in Dubai this week, has a “massive task at hand” as officials deliberate on the global framework for the aviation industry's cleaner energy transition, Salvatore Sciacchitano, president of the ICAO council, said during a keynote speech on Monday.
“We need to take collective action now and CAAF/3 can be instrumental to laying the building blocks in terms of policy and planning, regulatory framework adjustments, implementation support and financing,” he said.
“We have a great opportunity to show and communicate to the world with concrete and evident steps that aviation is seriously and strongly committed to decarbonise by 2050.”
In October last year, the Montreal-based ICAO's 193 member-states agreed to a long-term aspirational goal for net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, amid pressure to curb air pollution.
“It has only been a year since the decision was taken, but we can already see the transformative progress from this global sector in its transition to a cleaner energy future,” Mr Sciacchitano said.
The conference this week aims to reach an agreement on the steps needed to develop and roll out clean fuels for the aviation sector.
The idea is to advance an ICAO global framework for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), lower-carbon aviation fuels and other clean energy for adoption at the conference.
“We are looking forward to having a global framework by the end of this event that could shape the future of alternative aviation fuels,” Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, told The National.
Challenges facing some countries include financing and technical know-how.
“Now the issue is how to find common ground to make everyone happy and that would be a challenge because they have different capabilities and resources,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.
“For us as a host country, we're trying to facilitate reaching a conclusion during this conference but we don't have any control over the outcome.”
The UAE is taking a “rational approach” as it seeks to balance between the important economic contribution of aviation on one hand and protecting the environment on the other, he said.
Mr Sciacchitano urged conference participants to “recognise our different views and positions” and “to do so in the spirit of co-operation, goodwill and consensus-building”.
The third ICAO Conference on Aviation Alternative Fuels is being held in the UAE days before the country prepares to host the Cop28 UN summit on climate change.
The global aviation industry is grappling with pressure to urgently reduce its carbon emissions as passenger traffic moves closer to pre-pandemic levels.
Airlines are intensifying efforts to find adequate quantities of greener fuels that are economically viable, given the industry's thin profit margins.
Reducing aviation pollution is crucial for climate change efforts as the industry generates roughly 2 per cent of global emissions.
With advanced technologies like electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft years away from becoming a reality, SAF is widely considered to be critical for the industry to achieve its climate goals. However, the alternative fuel remains in short supply and is very costly.
The ICAO conference will “constitute a turning point” in the future of the aviation and travel industry, Abdulla bin Touq, UAE Minister of Economy, said at the event.
The conference “will move us to a new stage in the production of aviation fuel, which is more sustainable and low in emissions, contributing significantly to achieving climate neutrality and achieving what we have committed to in the decision … of net zero by 2050,” Mr Bin Touq said.
“We look forward to emerging from this edition of the conference with a clearer path to support the transition towards a green system for aviation fuel production that serves the continued growth of this vital and important sector globally.”
Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, said in a recorded speech that aviation is a hard-to-abate sector but “with innovation and investment, everything can be achieved”.
“A zero-emissions sector means adopting clean energy sources on a global scale. It means economic policies and regulations that can support the just and equitable transition while attracting investors. And it means measures such as carbon pricing, low carbon fuel standards and subsidies for SAF,” he said.
Reaching a global framework on alternative fuels during this conference would be a “critical step towards a clean and prosperous future” for the aviation sector.
“Moving at jet speed, you can speed up the clean energy revolution our world needs. With the Cop28 meeting around the corner, now is the time to turn ambition into concrete action,” he said.
Globally, many countries are taking steps to support the sector's efforts to reduce emissions.
The UAE has created a SAF Road Map to accelerate the decarbonisation of the country's aviation sector and transform it into a regional hub for low-carbon aviation fuels.
It set a target of 700 million litres of SAF production on an annual basis by 2030, which will lead to an estimated reduction of 4.8 million tonnes of CO2.
Aviation is central to the UAE's economy, contributing about 13 per cent to the country's gross domestic product.
Airlines and oil majors in the UAE are taking proactive measures to support the industry's shift to greener operations.
Adnoc, BP, and Masdar plan to develop clean hydrogen and technology hubs to explore SAF production from municipal waste and green hydrogen.
Emirates has allocated $200 million to fund research and development projects focused on advanced fuel technology that can reduce the environmental effects of commercial aviation.
Earlier this month, Shell Aviation supplied more than 300,000 gallons of blended SAF to Emirates at Dubai International Airport.
Etihad and UK-based green aerospace company Satavia have signed a multiyear commercial agreement for contrail management and carbon credits within day-to-day operations.
Aircraft contrails, and vapour trails produced by the exhaust from jet engines, heighten the effect of global warming. Contrails cause up to 60 per cent of aviation’s total climate effects, the equivalent to 2 per cent of all human impact.
Masdar and Airbus have also signed an initial pact to develop sustainable aviation fuels, green hydrogen and direct air capture technology.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
Three-day coronation
Royal purification
The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.
The crown
Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.
The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.
The audience
On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.
The procession
The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.
Meet the people
On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Sly%20Cooper%20and%20the%20Thievius%20Raccoonus
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sucker%20Punch%20Productions%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%202%20to%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Top tips to avoid cyber fraud
Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:
1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.
2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.
3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.
4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.
5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
More from our Neighbourhood series:
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from our neighbourhood series:
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
