The United Nations Environment Programme, the Conseil Général du Val d'Oise and the European Federation for Transport & Environment, conducted an International Conference 'Final Boarding Call: Aviation, Airports and Sustainable Development', which was held on July 1 and 2 2002 in Cergy - Paris/France.

The aviation sector's importance for economic and social development is well known, but it is also clear that this is not at no cost: contribution to climate change, local air pollution and noise. Over the past decades, considerable efforts to improve environmental performance have been made. High popularity of air transport, resulting in significant growth rates, however, has in many cases outweighed these achievements.

Ten years after the Rio Conference and right before this year's World Summit on Sustainable Development (August 26 to September 4, Johannesburg/South Africa) was a good opportunity to build on efforts undertaken in other fora and jointly developed partnerships for sustainable development among all relevant stakeholders.

Around 200 participants coming from different regions of the world and representing different players involved in the aviation sector had the opportunity to exchange experiences on good practices, discuss possible solutions and develop joint action plans that balance all three pillars of sustainability.

The conference covered all major aspects of aviation and sustainable development, including global and local air pollution, noise, infrastructure planning and airport management. Striving to provide a maximum of time for discussion and interaction, the topics were dealt with in separate breakout sessions.

For further information, please contact Martina Otto [martina.otto@unep.fr] or Beatrice Schell [beatrice.schell@t-e.nu].