A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) reaffirmed its commitment to industry-wide decarbonization and its long-term goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 last week at its Third Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3).
At the Dubai event, the organization adopted a new global framework on the acceptance of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), lower carbon aviation fuels (LCAF), and other greener energy sources as it and its member states agreed to a goal of reducing CO2 emissions in international aviation by 5 percent by 2030, compared with non-use of these fuels.
This follows <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2022-10-09/business-aviation-organizations-cheer-icaos-net-zero-goals">last year's agreement</a> at the ICAO Triennial Assembly, which set long-term industry goals of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and encouraged increased investment in SAF production.
“The role of the framework is to facilitate the scale-up of the development and deployment of SAF, LCAF, and other aviation cleaner energies on a global basis, and mainly by providing greater clarity, consistency, and predictability to all stakeholders, including those beyond the aviation sector,” explained ICAO council president Salvatore Sciacchitano. “Investors, governments, and others all need greater certainty regarding the policies, regulations, implementation support, and investments required so that all countries will have an equal opportunity to contribute to and benefit from the expansion in the production and use of these fuels.”
Hailed also by leaders in the business aviation industry, the agreement recognizes the role strict accounting methodologies such as book-and-claim will play in stimulating the global marketplace. Book-and-claim is the process by which a customer purchases SAF and receives any environmental reporting benefits, while the actual fuel is dispensed into another aircraft perhaps hundreds or thousands of miles away.
“The CAAF/3 framework advances a key tool for the global business aviation community to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” noted International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) director-general Kurt Edwards. “IBAC and the business aviation community will work with ICAO and governments to demonstrate how book-and-claim, using globally accepted accounting practices, can enable small operators, no matter where they are in the world, to send demand signals for SAF while claiming environmental attributes and ensuring environmental integrity.”

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

ICAO Adopts Sustainable Aviation Fuel Acceptance Framework at Dubai Event

Third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels served to reinforce industry's decarbonization goals

The International Civil Aviation Organization reaffirmed its commitment to industry-wide decarbonization and its long-term goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050 last week at its Third Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels.

ICAO Adopts SAF Acceptance Framework at Dubai Event

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney are committed to new R&D efforts in the Netherlands

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Total funding for the third phase of work could top €950 million

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New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Naples Aviation is the first of many to begin offering SAF in the coming months

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The large-scale plant is expected to come online in 2026

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The multi-billion-dollar facility is expected to be running by 2029

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

The move could bolster the Kingdom's circular economy and sustainability

TotalEnergies, Aramco Sign SAF Development Agreement

Kerry Lynch

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Environmental regulatory schemes are growing exponentially worldwide

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New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

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