ICAO standards are important elements of the global ICAO action plan to regulate emissions from aircraft and engines and to help ensure a level playing-field in the industry.
31 May 2021: The A330-900 (Neo) has become the first large airliner to be certified by EASA for ICAO’s new CO2 emissions standard. With this milestone, not only is Airbus the first manufacturer to receive such certification for any commercial aircraft world-wide, but this also demonstrates that the aircraft which Airbus produces today, and will continue to produce well into the future, will comply with foreseeable CO2 regulations.
The new requirement, adopted in 2017, has been developed by the UN’s ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) and is now being cascaded to certifying airworthiness authorities worldwide. Moreover, it complements existing aircraft noise and engine emissions standards and will be applicable both to New Type-Certified aircraft and to In-Production aircraft. By January 2028 all aircraft being produced will need to comply with the ICAO CO2 standard. Existing in-service aircraft, meanwhile, are being covered by separate environmental measures.
Simone Rauer, Airbus’ Head of Aviation Environmental Roadmap said, “Airbus is proud to be the first commercial aircraft manufacturer to receive EASA certification for ICAO’s new CO2 emissions requirement. ICAO standards are important elements of the global ICAO action plan to regulate emissions from aircraft and engines and to help ensure a level playing-field in the industry. For the A330neo in particular this award demonstrates that this aircraft meets ICAO’s environmental regulations beyond 2028.”
As ICAO released its recommendation to Member States, EASA was the first major certifying authority to implement the CO2 standard in its certification requirements for commercial aircraft. Going forward, Airbus will learn from being the first manufacturer to apply this certification requirement and will contribute to improving and further developing the standards set by ICAO, and benefiting the entire industry. All the other Airbus airliner products will receive certification in due course in a timeframe consistent with the certification requirements, and will thus comply with the CO2 requirements by the January 2028 deadline.
