During the week of 8-12 May 2023, Aerodyne hosted the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Working Group 3 on emissions. ICAO is part of the United Nations and has a Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) to help minimize the impact of civil air traffic on the environment. One of CAEP’s Working Groups (WG3) focuses on emissions and is a body that sets international regulations for commercial aviation emissions. These internationally agreed upon standards are adopted by all ICAO countries including the US, the latter through laws written by the EPA and enforced by the FAA.

There were over 40 delegates from around the world (with strong representation of North America, Western Europe, and Brazil) working at Aerodyne on key emissions issues. With a major focus on NOx and non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) emissions, WG3 is also refining regulations to minimize the carbon footprint of the civil aviation industry while jointly decreasing noise from aircraft operations in concert with CAEP WG1, which has responsibility for aviation noise pollution. Much progress was made on all of these fronts, refining and improving current regulations during this 13th CAEP three year cycle that will end in early 2025. It was a privilege to host and be a part of this important work.

The Aerodyne Research Team