On the first day of the ICAO Assembly being held in Monteal, four bodies signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to create a global safety information exchange in order to reduce the risk of accidents worldwide. The United States Department of Transportation, the European Commission, the International Air Transport Association and ICAO will ensure member states make available information on the performance of their safety oversight systems. The agreement also includes safeguards to ensure that sensitive information is used solely for safety reasons. Overall, the new strategy provides regulators and industry with the tools and information they need to mitigate safety risks before they result in accidents.
The Assembly is also considering endorsing a declaration to address new and emerging threats to civil aviation following the attempted bombing of a commercial airliner on 25 December 2009. The Declaration emphasises: stronger ICAO security standards and screening procedures, new security measures to protect airport facilities and improve in-flight security; enhanced travel document security and validation; greater transparency of results from the ICAO audit programme; increased cooperation among States and the civil aviation industry, while ensuring privacy and civil liberties.
Also at the ICAO Assembly, members are focusing on a proposal to build upon a Programme of Action on International Aviation and Climate Change adopted by ICAO Member States in 2009 with the aim of mitigating the impact of aviation on the environment.
The Programme is the first and only globally-harmonised agreement from a sector for addressing its CO2 emissions. It includes a global goal of 2% annual fuel efficiency improvement up to the year 2050.
ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) has already this year committed to a timetable for the CO2 standard for 2013. Once adopted, the standard will become the only global fuel-efficiency standard for any industry sector.