Campaign takes flight to address aviation emissions

A campaign has been launched to pressure the airline industry to address its carbon footprint ahead of a meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in September to discuss the issue of aircraft emissions.

Aviation emissions, as well as those from shipping, did not form part of the final COP21 Paris Agreement text from last December. This means that there is no agreement for countries to take account of them when formulating their national climate action plans.

The ‘FlightPath 1.5’ campaign, launched by a number of environmental organisations, is focused on ICAO and its 191 members achieving a meaningful agreement this year to tackle emissions, particularly as the ICAO Assemblies only occur every three years.

The ICAO has released a draft resolution on market-based measures to address aviation emissions, which is subject to on-going discussions.

FlightPath 1.5 is calling for a cap and then reduction of emissions from the entire aviation sector. It is advocating an aggressive and transparent ICAO deal that caps international emissions at 2020 levels; encourages airlines to address their own emissions as well as using market mechanisms; and reviews the cap regularly to increase ambition, like the Paris Agreement.

‘Curbing aviation emissions will require more than currently available technological improvements, making a market-based measure an essential tool to efficiently incentivise the industry to achieve deeper cuts,’ said Tim Johnson, Director for the Aviation Environment Federation. ‘We can’t assume that the biofuels and other radical technological breakthroughs will automatically materialise and put aviation on a flight path in line with 1.5°C. A well-designed market-based measure is the safety net the aviation industry needs.’

A separate International Civil Society Statement signed by 80 organisations calls on ICAO to use its September Assembly to set a strong and serious plan to reduce emissions – that sets emission reduction targets and doesn’t rely on carbon offsetting. It is critical of ‘carbon neutral’ offsetting methods which it describes as a significant distraction from real measures to reduce emissions.