The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will launch the IATA World Sustainability Symposium (WSS) in Madrid, Spain on 3-4 October. With governments now aligned with the industry’s commitment to decarbonize aviation by 2050, this symposium will facilitate critical discussions, in seven key areas:
• The overall strategy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, including Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)
• The crucial role of government and policy support
• Effective implementation of sustainability measures
• Financing the energy transition
• Measuring, tracking and reporting emissions
• Addressing non-CO2 emissions
• The significance of value chains
“In 2021 airlines committed to net zero emissions by 2050. Last year governments made the same commitment through the International Civil Aviation Organization. Now the WSS will bring together the global community of sustainability experts in the industry and governments to debate and discuss the key enablers for aviation’s successful decarbonization, our biggest challenge ever,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General who is confirmed to speak at WSS.
The WSS will provide a platform specifically tailored for airline sustainability professionals, regulators and policy makers, as well as stakeholders in the industry’s value chain.
Speakers will include:
• Patrick Healy, Chair, Cathay Pacific
• Roberto Alvo, CEO, LATAM Airlines Group
• Robert Miller, Professor of Aerothermal Technology and Director of the Whittle Laboratory at the University of Cambridge
• Suzanne Kearns, Founding Director, Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aviation (WISA)
• Andre Zollinger, Policy Manager, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT
• Marie Owens Thomsen, Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a trade association of the world’s airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences that served as a forum for price fixing.
Consisting in 2023 of 300 airlines, primarily major carriers, representing 117 countries, the IATA’s member airlines account for carrying approximately 83% of total available seat miles air traffic. IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards. It is headquartered in Montreal, Canada with executive offices in Geneva, Switzerland.
