Paris High Ambition Countries Call for Urgent Action on Aviation Emissions and a Robust Global Carbon Scheme

International, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability

September 23, 2016

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(GreenAir Online) Members of the High Ambition Coalition, which played a pivotal role in the successful outcome of the global climate negotiations last December that resulted in the Paris Agreement, have joined forces to call for urgent action to curb the growth of emissions from the aviation sector. Representing both the developed and developing world, Mexico, the Marshall Islands and the European Union have issued a joint statement saying it was “time for us to make history again” and for countries to work to secure an ambitious and robust global market-based measure (GMBM) at the forthcoming ICAO 39th Assembly. It was crucial there was a broad participation of countries in the scheme, they said, and the widest possible emissions coverage. …

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Other requirements for the scheme’s design, they said, should include a robust review mechanism that would adapt ambition in line with wider climate objectives and the Paris long-term temperature goals, and the use of carbon offsets with environmental integrity, the supply if which could come from the least developed countries. To ensure a fair agreement, routes to and from countries with a very small share of global emissions should be exempted, a provision already in the draft Assembly text. These are classified as Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDCs).

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China has signalled its intention to join the scheme, but with Brazil seemingly not opting in from the start, there will be a focus on the intentions of the other BRICS members – Russia, India and South Africa. Although far from being the biggest in international aviation traffic terms, the loss of both Russia and India from the voluntary phase would be a blow for the scheme. Brazil and South Africa are also important and growing markets, as well as regional leaders, points out Dan Rutherford of the International Council for Clean Transportation (ICCT).

If the top 20 countries by international traffic all opted in to the scheme and other 171 smaller ICAO Member States did not, ICCT estimates around 60% of traffic growth would be covered. Rutherford says key countries that are required to reach this coverage and have yet to declare – in addition to Russia and India – are UAE, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Australia (see graph below). READ MORE

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