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Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
Government has reaffirmed its continued support for International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)’s programmes aimed at establishing a safe, secure, orderly and sustainable international air transport system, an official has said.
ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
Speaking during the launch of a Feasibility Study on the Development and Deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development permanent secretary Engineer Theodius Chinyanga said the government through the Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe have been active participants to several ICAO programmes.
Some of the programmes include: ICAO Assistance with EU Funding-Capacity Building for CO2 Mitigation from International Aviation; Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme from International Aviation (CORSIA); ICAO Assistance, Capacity building and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
“This participation has and continues to serve as a reaffirmation of the Government of Zimbabwe’s support for ICAO’s programmes aimed at establishing a safe, secure, orderly, and sustainable international air transport system as well as dovetailing with our commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“In equal measure, we are also grateful to ICAO for the role it is playing in making sure that we are all on board in combating climate change in line with its thrust of “no country left behind”. Ladies and Gentlemen. To demonstrate Zimbabwe’s commitment to decarbonizing International aviation, our State Action Plan (SAP) which was submitted to ICAO last year (2022) put forward 19 strategies towards this goal.
“I am happy to say ICAO recognized the country’s efforts in research and development of biofuels as an opportunity for us to leverage on as we move towards the attainment of the Long-Term Aspirational Goal of a net zero carbon emissions in International aviation by 2050. Such efforts by us have culminated in where we are today; being selected as a site for the ICAO-EU funded feasibility study on the development and deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) with a resource envelope of over USD100 000,” he said.
Eng Chinyanga said as the transport sector in Zimbabwe, they were enjoined through the Zimbabwe National Climate Change Response Strategy to integrate climate resilience in their transport planning and infrastructural development by promoting research and development of appropriate technologies for climate resilience.
“Zimbabwe has 200 airports and aerodromes with a current design capacity of 3,8 million passengers per annum. The current and projected growth of the aviation, and transport sector in general, is envisaged to result in the increase in GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emissions, where currently, the transport sector alone is said to contribute 12 percent of Zimbabwe’s GHG emissions.
“It is estimated that out of these GHG emissions 97 percent result from direct combustion of fossil fuels. To put this into proper perspective, Zimbabwe’s air transport consists mainly of regional and domestic flights with a few but increasing international flights. As we strive to attain increased capacity utilisation of our aviation infrastructure, it is also disconcerting to note that the carbon footprint associated with air transport also increases,” he said.
He said as a ministry they believe that the deployment of sustainable aviation fuels was indeed a low hanging fruit for them, taking into consideration their current depressed capacity to implement the other strategies contained in ICAOS basket of measures for decarbonizing aviation.
Eng Chinyanga said the capacity to develop biofuels comes from their acquired competences over the years, dating to as far back as the 1970s, when petrol blending was implemented.
“The turning point for the country, however, came in 2005 with the introduction of the biofuels programme which ramped up research and production of biofuels with the objective of partially substituting imported fossil fuels with locally produced biofuels.
“To this end we are proud as a nation of the outcome of this policy which has seen the biofuels program result in petrol blending of up to 25 percent. The Mount Hampden and Mutoko Jatropha Biodiesel plants also reflect the Government of Zimbabwe’s efforts in furthering the implementation of our State Action Plan. Furthermore, these plants reflect the country’s potential to produce sufficient amounts of sustainable aviation jet fuel,” he said.
CAAZ director general Engineer Elijah Chingosho it was envisaged that this feasibility study will provide a clearer picture to the Government and its partners on what is required to make the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels a reality in Zimbabwe.
“Zimbabwe has been working with ICAO in a number of areas and has benefited a lot through assistance and capacity building programs throughout the years. The ICAO – EU project is one such initiative where Zimbabwe has benefitted through capacity building and assistance to develop the State Action Plan for Mitigation of CO2 (Carbon dioxide) Emissions from International Aviation.
“In addition, the State is now able to track and monitor CO2 emissions from aviation through the use of the Aviation Environmental System that was provided as part of the project. The tool is very important not only in capturing valuable data but giving greater vision into the trends for the sector. Zimbabwe acknowledges the vital role which international aviation plays in global economic and social development and the need to ensure that international aviation continues to develop in a sustainable manner,” he said.
Eng Chingosho applauded ICAO for supporting this key mitigating measure by selecting Zimbabwe to be among the States for assistance through funding the feasibility study on the Development and Deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels.
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