On October 22, 2023, during the International  Forum on Green Aviation, founding members made a joint launch of the International Association for Green Aviation (IAGA) initiative.  The launching ceremony was presided over by Yu Ce, founding member of IAGA and Associate Secretary General of the Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA). Another three founding members joined the release and interpreted IAGA from different perspectives.

Weihong Zhang , academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) and Vice President of Northwestern Polytechnical University(NPU), first introduced the background and significance of IAGA. He introduced that in order to  build a global community for the development of green aviation, promote the wide application of new technologies in the field of green aviation, and accelerate the achievement of the UN sustainable development goals(SDGs), dozens of  experts and scholars, industry leaders, professionals from all over the world co-found IAGA under the strong support of CSAA. IAGA adheres to the development concepts of Clean, Smart, Safe and Innovative with vision to realize the sustainable development of aviation through technological progress and international cooperation. Its objectives include:

a.Construct a global platform to exchange knowledge and information of emerging  technology and frontier research that can facilitate the sustainable development of  aviation industry.

b.Establish a global network for green aviation stakeholders, including the government, the industry, the academia and the market to mobilize resources.

c.Address emerging problems arising from the development of unmanned, smart, electric or hybrid flying vehicles.

d.Drive the development of aviation industry in a clean, smart and innovative way, hereby contributing to the achievement of UN SDGs.

Prof. Raafat Saade, Founder of the International Network for Digital Innovation Research and Education (INDIRE), chair professor at the School of Global Governance, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), introduced the scope of IAGA.

It covers:

Industry research and cooperation: Industry report and road-map ;International cooperation project;Exhibition

Academic exchange and consultation: Conference;Publications;Consultation

Awarding and appraisal: International award of individuals and projects;Fellowship certification;Standards development

Talent cultivation and recommendation: Scholarship; Training and certification; Science Popularization.

He presented that IAGA strives to make a difference by raising awareness, creating and spreading knowledge that empowers aviation professionals to develop green aviation.

Mr. Hing Lee HOOI,  the Founder of Hong Kong based  Volar Air Mobility, introduced IAGA and called for more engagement.  He said, "IAGA is now comprised of 50 representatives from 17 countries and regions with diverse backgrounds in general and civil aviation, governance, academia, industry, etc. One of IAGA's mission is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. to ensure developing countries have equal access to pioneering green aviation technologies. He called on more professionals to actively participate in IAGA to make it a meaningful platform for promoting associated policies, advancing technology and inspiring positive change. "Our collective contributions will produce meaningful outcomes that will create a more sustainable future for aviation and align our efforts with the broader global environmental goals," he said.The IAGA launch ceremony was held during the 25th Annual CAST Conference - International Forum on Green Aviation. There were 200 on-site attendees (due to room capacity) and nearly 10,000 online participants.

Many IAGA founding members attended the International Forum on Green Aviation in Hefei, including:

Yang Fengtian, Academician of CAE (Online), China
Xiang Qiao , Academician of CAE, (represented by Hu Xiaoyu)
Wu Guanghui, Academician of CAE,  Chief Designer of C919, COMAC, China
Zhang Weihong, Academician  of CAS,  China
Yin Shijun, Chief Engineer of CAAC, China
Prof. Raafat Saade, Founder of INDIRE, Chair Professor, SGG of BIT, Canada
Prof. Joachim Szodruch, Founder of IFAR, Germany
Prof. Ding Shuitin, President of CAUC, China
Mr. Yao Junchen, Vice President and Secretary General of CSAA, China
Mr. Ren He, Foreign Member of RAE, CTO, Sales and Marketing, COMAC, Australia
Mr. Sun Xiasheng, China Representative of ICAF, China
Prof. Liu Hao, Secretary General of JARUS, BIT, China
Dr. Chen Yong, Chief Designer of ARJ 21,  COMAC, China
Mr.Hing Lee Hooi ,  Founder of Hong Kong Volar Air Mobility, China HK
Capt. Michael Lau, Professor of Practice, PolyU, China HK
Vincent Tank Kee Kim, CEO of Tahira, Malaysia
Prof. Vincent Ji, University of Saclay, France
Zhang Xue, Director, Department of International Cooperation, CSAA, China

In the afternoon of the same day, part of the founding members and their representatives held the first in-person working meeting. Yu Ce, Associate Secretary General of CSAA, chaired the meeting. Zhang Xue, Director of CSAA introduced the  current status and legal registration of IAGA. She later on reported the data of International  Forum on Green Aviation and- plan for its next event. The founding members of IAGA spoke highly of the International Forum of Green Aviation, which focused on the theme of Green Aviation, offering a platform for interpretation of green aviation from different perspectives. Members also agreed that the next Forum may be held between September and November 2024.  Exhibition, business negotiation, training, student competitions may also be added to the program. More international delegates are expected to come physically. Finally the participants had open discussions on the sustainability of IAGA from the perspectives of top-level design, special-interest committee, scope of business, financing and publications.