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Background

The airline industry has a tremendous track record of environmental improvement achieved through continual investments in technology, operations and infrastructure. The industry recognizes the need to further reduce its CO2 emissions. This can only be achieved through:

• A global sectoral approach to address aviation emissions in a post-Kyoto framework
• A multi-faceted approach with commitment from all stakeholders, including governments
• Establishing the right legal and fiscal frameworks to promote investment in new technologies and low carbon sustainable jet fuels
• Governments making the necessary investments to modernize air traffic management

Why a Global Sectoral Approach?

• Aviation is a global industry. For a typical flight, CO2 will be emitted over several different countries, over international waters and even different continents
• While it is simple for governments to account for emissions from fixed sources within their borders, it is difficult to do this with mobile sources such as aircraft used in international aviation
• Article 2.2 of the Kyoto Protocol recognized this by directing states to address emissions from international aviation through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• Aviation emissions should continue to be dealt with through ICAO at a global level

Principles of a Global Sectoral Approach

• Governments must take a global sectoral approach to reducing aviation emissions:
• Aviation emissions addressed on a sectoral basis, not through a patchwork of individual state policies
• Avoid distortion and leakage
• Annual CO2 emissions reports to be collected from national carriers by their own civil aviation authorities
• To ensure operators are held accountable just once for their emissions
•  ICAO to help governments to ensure compliance
• Cost-effective and non-discriminatory economic measures to reduce emissions
• Must be implemented globally, on a basis of consensus
• Must offer the greatest environmental benefit while being cost effective for the industry
• Full and unrestricted access to properly regulated carbon markets
• Such as emissions trading, carbon funds, offsets
• Revenues must be earmarked for environmental purposes
• Proportion for technology, operations and infrastructure improvements/investment that reduce aviation emissions
• Provide incentives for more fuel-efficient aircraft and low carbon sustainable jet fuels
• Design parameters
• Global sectoral approach must be simple and universally applicable
• Ensuring non discrimination while accommodating Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR) for states
• Should only cover CO2 emissions from aircraft
• Non-CO2 impacts to be dealt with once they are better understood

 Updated: December 2011