The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recently facilitated a weeklong workshop from the 11^th to the 15^th of September 2023 which was hosted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji in Nadi. The workshop focused primarily on the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) and intended to aid PSIDS in developing their State Action Plan (SAP) to Reduce CO₂ Emissions from International Aviation.

The SAP is defined as a voluntary planning and reporting tool for ICAO member States to communicate information on their activities to address CO₂ emissions. It is a living document that should be updated every three years and also provides communication between the State and ICAO.

A total of twenty-nine (29) participants from Civil Aviation Authorities, airplane operators, airport operators, and air navigation service providers attended the workshop. NiuSky Pacific Limited (NSPL)was represented by Mr.Lambert.Kolokol- Team leader Flight Yield and Ms. Freesia. Wavine- Manager ATM System/Data.

Currently, 140 States representing 98.53% of global Revenue Tonne Kilometers (RTK) have voluntarily submitted their SAPs to ICAO. Noting that only 2 states in the Pacific, Fiji and Vanuatu, had already produced their respective SAPs, from this workshop Papua New Guinea and other participating states were able to learn from their experiences and are now in the process of submitting their first SAP to ICAO.

 

Mr. Kolokol acknowledged the importance of developing the SAP and seeing NSPL position itself as a state aviation entity making a commitment to reducing CO₂ emissions in the services it provides.

‘’The workshop on developing SAPs for reducing CO₂ in the aviation sector was the first of its kind for the NSPL team. It was a great opportunity to see NiuSky’s position in the aviation industry as one of the key players in reducing CO₂ from international aviation in PNG. ’says Mr.Kolokol

Mr.Kolokol further attributed that it was also through this workshop that they had learned how NiuSky Pacific Limited’s current systems, operational procedures, and infrastructures have helped the aviation industry in reducing CO₂ emissions.

The first step in the SAP process is the designation of the State Action Plan Focal Point. Mr. Kevin Luana from the Department of Transport, was appointed as PNG’s Focal Point during a workshop in Port Moresby.

The team proceeded to develop the draft PNG SAP using the ICAO State Action Plan Minimum Contents which are; State Action Plan Focal Point contact information, Baseline scenario- using international fuel consumption data, CO₂ emissions and traffic data projected to 2050, List of selected emissions mitigation measures, expected results- using international fuel consumption data and CO₂ emissions projected to 2050 (with the actions in #3) and Assistance needs (if needed).

 

The finalized SAP for PNG is in the process of being reviewed by the PNG Action Plan on C02 Emissions Reduction (APER) team before submission to ICAO by October 2023.

Mr. Kolokol is adamant that the training and knowledge gained from this workshop will enable him and Ms. Wavine to contribute meaningfully towards helping NSPL identify mitigation measures under improved Air Traffic Management (ATM) and infrastructure use which are currently being implemented and planned to be implemented.

Information of all mitigation measures can be found in ICAO Doc 9988. Furthermore, the projection of each measure against the baseline is done using the ICAO Environment Benefit Tool (EBT) which was provided to the team during the workshop.

NiuSky Pacific Ltd as a key stakeholder in the aviation industry, will continue to be an effective member of the PNG APER team using the tools and knowledge acquired through this important workshop to reduce its C0₂ emissions as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.

 

 

 

 

 

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