The 13–14 October gathering will put sustainable aviation fuel, finance, market design and emerging technologies before airline leaders and policymakers, with Wings of Change Europe following on 15 October
Brussels will host IATA’s fourth World Sustainability Symposium on 13–14 October 2026, followed by Wings of Change Europe on 15 October
- IATA’s fourth World Sustainability Symposium will take place in Brussels on 13–14 October 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City.
- The agenda will focus on scaling HEFA SAF, LCAF and co-processing, improving market design for SAF and carbon credits, and advancing technology and understanding of non-CO2 effects.
- The Brussels meeting comes as ReFuelEU Aviation raises the required SAF share at EU airports from 2% in 2025 toward 6% in 2030.
- WSS registrants will receive complimentary access to Wings of Change Europe at the same venue on 15 October 2026.
(NEWS) BRUSSELS, Belgium, 2026-Sep-01 — /Travel PR News/ — Brussels will become a focal point for the aviation industry’s decarbonization debate this October when the International Air Transport Association (IATA) brings its fourth World Sustainability Symposium (WSS) to the Belgian capital. The two-day gathering, scheduled for 13–14 October 2026 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brussels City, will bring airline executives together with policymakers, regulators, energy suppliers, investors, technology companies, academics and sustainability specialists at a moment when the sector is under pressure to turn long-term climate commitments into scalable systems.
The location gives the meeting an unusually direct policy backdrop. European aviation is already operating under ReFuelEU Aviation, which requires fuel suppliers serving EU airports to progressively increase the share of sustainable aviation fuel in the aviation fuel mix. The European Commission lists an overall SAF requirement of 2% from 2025, rising to 6% in 2030, making questions of fuel availability, investment, market structure and infrastructure increasingly immediate for airlines and their suppliers.
IATA’s wider Fly Net Zero commitment calls for member airlines to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050. Ahead of the Brussels symposium, Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, argued that the transition cannot be delivered by airlines acting alone. She pointed to renewable energy production, new infrastructure, technology development, investment and risk-sharing as interdependent parts of the same system, and said the central constraint is now the speed at which those elements can be developed and scaled.
Fuel supply and market design move to the centre of the debate
The WSS agenda is built around three broad areas. The first is the scaling of nearer-term energy-transition options, including HEFA sustainable aviation fuel, Low Carbon Aviation Fuels (LCAF) and co-processing. The second focuses on policy design and harmonization intended to support global, transparent, liquid and competitive markets for SAF, carbon credits and other decarbonization tools. The third looks further ahead to emerging technologies, the aviation impact of non-CO2 effects and sustainability across the aircraft lifecycle.
Finance is also expected to run through the discussions. IATA’s preliminary program includes sessions on funding the sustainability transition alongside policy and regulation, SAF and LCAF, corporate sustainability, technology and innovation, and the treatment of contrails and other non-CO2 effects. The mix reflects one of the central tensions facing aviation: airlines can commit to lower-carbon operations, but many of the fuels, technologies and infrastructure they need depend on investment decisions and policy frameworks outside the airline sector itself.
Confirmed participants span airlines, European institutions, climate finance, energy, airports and manufacturing. The announced speaker roster includes:
- Roberto Alvo, CEO, LATAM Airlines Group
- Eddy Liégeois, Head of Unit for Aviation Policy, DG MOVE
- Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Member of the European Parliament
- Leif Holmberg, Board Co-chair, Green Climate Fund, and Deputy Director at Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division, International Energy Agency
- Margarita Cabrera Botero, Head of Climate Business, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, World Bank Group
- Jonathon Counsell, Group Head of Sustainability, IAG
- Patricia Grossi, Head of Carbon Markets and Biofuel Certification, Acelen Renewables
- Bertrand de Lacombe, Vice President Sustainability Regulatory & External Engagement, Airbus
- Denise Pronk, Head of Sustainability, Schiphol Airport
IATA says further speakers from airlines, energy companies, financial institutions, governments and technology businesses will be added in the weeks before the event. The organization’s event page says the 2025 edition of WSS drew 500 delegates in Hong Kong, giving the Brussels gathering a sizeable international base from which to broaden the policy conversation.
Two aviation policy events will share one Brussels venue
The 2026 edition will also mark the first time WSS is staged immediately before IATA’s Wings of Change Europe (WOCE) at the same venue. WSS participants will receive complimentary access to WOCE on 15 October, extending the discussion beyond sustainability into the wider strategic issues affecting European aviation, including competitiveness, connectivity and economic development.
For airlines and travellers, the policy choices under discussion matter because the pace and cost of aviation’s energy transition will be shaped not only by what carriers do, but also by the availability of lower-carbon fuels, supporting infrastructure, financing and compatible regulation across markets. IATA is positioning the Brussels sequence as an opportunity to bring those interests into the same room while European fuel mandates and the global 2050 decarbonization target move from distant milestones toward operational planning.
The World Sustainability Symposium is open to accredited members of the press. The latest session details are available through the WSS program.
