The Civil Aviation Authority of Macao SAR (AACM) is presently participating in the 38th Session of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly where representatives from 181 member states and major international and industry organizations gather together to hold discussions in separate commissions to deliberate safety, security, economic, environment and regional cooperation issues relating to the future development of the global air transport systems. The 38th Session was declared open on 24 September 2014 at the ICAO Headquarters in Montreal. It will be concluded on 04 October 2014. AACM is participating as member of the delegation of the People's Republic of China. According to ICAO statistics, the global air traffic will rise from 100,000 aircraft movements per year to 200,000 aircraft movements in the next twenty years. In his welcome address for the opening ceremony, the President of the ICAO Council, Mr. Roberto Kobeh González pointed out that the rapid increase in air traffic will pose significant challenges to system safety, efficiency, security, economic viability and environmental protection. The Assembly therefore urges all member states and administrations to collaborate with the industry to take measures to improve both oversight and operations in order to manage the upcoming capacity expansion without sacrificing the overall system safety and convenience. In aviation safety, the Assembly defined runway safety, controlled flight into terrain and loss of control as the three main focuses for the next three years. The Assembly also reviewed and approved the two revisions of the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) and the Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP), both of which have already been endorsed by the ICAO Council previously. The GASP is a framework for guiding and assisting the Aviation Safety Groups in different regions, ICAO's member states and administrations, as well as the airlines worldwide, in the formulation of their aviation safety plans, for improving international safety. The key objective of the 2013 GASP is to continually reduce the aviation accident rate through effective safety oversight, safety management and risk assessment. The GANP is a strategic plan that presents all states and administrations supporting a harmonized global air navigation system. Together with the Aviation System Block Upgrades that has been incorporated into the Plan, the new GANP provides a comprehensive planning tool for the modernization of air traffic management in contemporary and future times. Furthermore, the Assembly also urges all states and administrations to actively take part in regional sub-groups to promote safety at all levels and share information among themselves. In aviation security, ICAO will continue to drive all states and administrations to further secure aircraft, passengers and cargo and implement facilitation to avoid obstructions to traveler convenience and trade flows. In the environmental protection area, aviation now contributes just 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year. Despite this, ICAO and all states and administrations have dedicated much effort to reduce CO2 emissions. Aircraft today are at least 80% more fuel efficient than they were in 1960s. The Assembly reviewed the CO2 emission reduction activities carried out by the states and administrations. All parties will continue to implement a broad range of measures including operational refinements, alternative fuels, new technologies to significantly improve protection capacity. The ICAO Assembly is held every three years with the participation of all contracting states and major international and industry organizations. About 1,400 delegates from a total of 231 delegations, who are coming from 181 states and 50 international and industry organizations, unions and associations, are now attending the event. Election for the new 36-seat Council took place on 28 September 2013, which will run for three years till 2016. The People's Republic of China has been elected as a Council member. The new Council will continue to serve as ICAO's governing executive body in the coming triennial period.