Major Airlines Call for Global Approach to Aviation Emissions

Four of the world’s leading airlines have called for CO2 emissions from international aviation to be included in a new global climate deal. The agreement will be negotiated by world leaders at the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December. Emissions from international aviation, which currently contribute around 2 percent of global CO2 emissions, were not included in the Kyoto Protocol commitments and are not currently managed under an international climate change treaty.

The new industry coalition, the Aviation Global Deal (AGD) Group, brings together Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic and airport operator BAA. At its first Asia Pacific meeting in Hong Kong, the group published a communiqué calling for a pragmatic, fair and effective global policy solution for the sector, as a contribution to the UN International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) preparations for climate change negotiations in Copenhagen.

Signatories to the communiqué say that a new global climate deal for aviation must offer genuine environmental benefits; be operationally and economically sound; maintain competitiveness between airlines and avoid market distortions; reflect the UN climate change principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” between countries with different levels of development; balance the social and economic benefits of flying with the industry’s responsibility to cut global emissions and play its part in meeting tough climate change targets; and reflect the work of ICAO’s Group on International Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC) and IATA’s strategy for reducing emissions.