Environment Updates

The IATA Board of Governors and the 68th AGM last June sent a clear message for IATA to maintain its opposition to unilateral, extra-territorial climate measures and climate-related taxes for aviation, while urging governments in ICAO to agree on a comprehensive approach based on the industry CNG2020 and 4-pillar strategy.

Developments at ICAO

• IATA continues to be very actively involved in the ongoing ICAO work to deliver a framework for market-based measures as well as a single global mechanism for addressing aviation emissions. With the aviation industry’s input, ICAO remains on track to deliver a set of firm recommendations by March 2013.

Developments at IATA

• In parallel, IATA’s Climate Change Task Force (CCTF) is advancing with urgency its work on options on how to implement industry’s CNG2020 and 4 pillar strategy. The Board has endorsed CCTF conclusions to date and, amongst other things, has asked CCTF to continue work on how to allocate individual airline responsibilities and how to address fast growers.

Rio+20

• IATA was also present at the UN Rio+20 Conference in Brazil where, besides following the negotiations, it co-organized an Aviation Day to promote Sustainable Aviation.
• Through a broad industry collaboration with ICAO, ATAG, local authorities, fuel suppliers and OEM’s, a series of biofuel flights from Montreal to Rio de Janeiro, followed by a media event, successfully highlighted the potential benefits of these fuels for aviation.
• The official Rio+20 text does not single out aviation and only makes a passing reference to new climate-related taxes, which is encouraging. 
• In addition, tourism ministers at the T20 meetings in Los Cabos, Mexico, for the first time formally recognized travel and tourism as engines of job creation, economic growth and development, thereby giving a visible and welcome boost to industry’s messaging as part of the Aviation Economic Benefits campaign.