ICAO forging ahead with plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation
21-Dec-2009 The International Civil Aviation Organization continues to move forward with its aggressive plan of action to combat climate change even though a deal on bunker (international aviation and maritime) fuels was not reached at the Conference of the Parties (COP/15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Copenhagen from 7 to 18 December.
In response to the results of COP/15, ICAO Council President Roberto Kobeh González emphasized that States remain committed, through the Convention on International Civil Aviation, to keep working through ICAO in managing emissions from international civil aviation in order to achieve an environmentally sustainable air transport industry.
"The time-tested ICAO process of consensus-building and cooperation among the 190 Member States of ICAO, coupled with sustained efforts of the air transport industry, has been very effective through the years in minimizing the impact of aviation on the environment. It has recently led to the first, and to date, only globally-harmonized agreement designed to address climate change from a specific sector," Kobeh emphasized.
"As an active and long-time participant in UNFCCC deliberations, we fully recognize the complexity of the climate change challenge. We are convinced that the current ICAO process is best suited to achieving the goals we have set for ourselves," he added.
At a high-level ICAO meeting in October, States representing 93% of global commercial air traffic reached agreement on further reducing aviation's impact on climate change, in cooperation with the air transport industry, through such initiatives as a goal of 2% annual improvement in fuel efficiency globally until the year 2050; a global CO2 standard for aircraft; a framework for market-based measures in international aviation; measures to assist developing States and to facilitate access to financial resources, technology transfer and capacity-building; and continued further work on the development and implementation of alternative fuels for aviation worldwide which could lead to aviation being the first sector to use sustainable alternative fuels on a global basis.
Progress is expected on these and other initiatives next year with the eighth meeting of the Organization's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection in February, related discussions in the ICAO Council and a full review of environmental policies and programmes at the next decision-making ICAO Assembly in the fall.
"According to the IPCC fourth assessment report, total CO2 emissions from the aviation sector account for approximately 2% of global emissions from human activity, about 60% of which is related to international air travel. The projected growth in public demand for air transport in the years to come could exceed our capability to limit the impact of air travel on climate change unless we continue our progressive course of action in developing and implementing bold and effective solutions," Kobeh said.