Landmark agreement on climate change at ICAO

ICAO's 191 member states convened in Montreal.

 

“Today was a great day for aviation, for the effort against climate change and for global standards and international cooperation. Industry, civil society and governments have worked hard to reach this point and keep aviation at the forefront of industries managing their climate change impact," Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of International Air Transport Association (IATA) said after the agreement was reached.

"Now we have a strong mandate and a short three-year time frame to sort out the details. Airlines need and want a global MBM. Without losing any of the momentum built up over these last two weeks, we are eager to get on with the detailed work needed to design the global scheme in time for finalization at the 2016 Assembly."

 

The agreement will set in motion discussions on the detailed design elements of a global MBM, including standards for the monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions and the type of scheme to be implemented. In June, IATA’s 240 member airlines representing some 84 per cent of global traffic overwhelmingly passed a resolution asking governments to develop a global mandatory carbon offsetting scheme. The industry believes that this will be the most effective and efficient MBM to implement.

 

Tyler praised the European Commission for its important role in this. The EC earlier set early and persistent efforts on aviation emissions.