Fact Sheet: Global Sectoral Approach for Addressing Aviation Carbon Emissions

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 carbon emissions  
• A comprehensive approach with commitments from all industry stakeholders, including governments
• Establishing the right legal and fiscal frameworks to promote investment in new technologies and sustainable biojet fuels
• Governments making the necessary investments and reforms to optimize and 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, doing this with mobile sources such as aircraft used in international aviation is a lot more complex
• 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. Unilateral or extra-territorial regulations are not the way to go
• A patchwork of local measures will lead to an unnecessary and unsustainable increase in administrative and reporting requirements; it may also lead to incompatibilities between the different regimes, both in terms of monitoring methodologies and emissions covered

Principles of a Global Sectoral Approach

For a global approach to work, it must : 

• Address aviation emissions through a package of measures, i.e. technology, operational, infrastructure and – if necessary - economic measures
• Provide incentives for more fuel-efficient aircraft and sustainable biojet fuels
• Include commitments from other stakeholders (including governments and air navigation services providers, especially)
• Take into account the specific circumstances of all countries

Any market-based measures

• Must be implemented globally
• Must guarantee emissions reductions in the most cost-effective manner
• E.g. carbon offsetting or emissions trading
• Must be administratively simple and transparent
• E.g. operators only report once, to their own authorities
• Must be non-discriminatory
• Must avoid double counting of aviation emissions
• Must minimize competitive distortion and carbon leakage
• Must give full access to regulated carbon markets, including emissions trading, carbon funds, offsets
• Any revenues must be earmarked for environmental purposes, primarily towards the mitigation and adaptation measures within the aviation sector itself

Updated: December 2012