IATA urges African states to adopt global carbon emissions offsetting standard

International Air Transport Association (IATA) is urging African governments to support the adoption of a global offsetting scheme for carbon emissions at the 39^th tri-annual Assembly of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal later this year.

IATA’s call is coming seven months ahead of the ICAO summit where governments from 191 member states will meet to agree on matters that will set the worldwide policy on aviation for the upcoming triennium.

Top of the agenda will be the proposed adoption of a global offsetting scheme for international aviation.

According to report by Katherine Kaczynska, IATA corporate communication representative, sent to BusinessDay yesterday, “Achieving agreement on this will be essential if the aviation sector is to meet its goal of carbon neutral growth from 2020 (CNG2020), which was adopted at the 37^th ICAO Assembly in 2010. The alternative is an increasing patchwork of taxes, charges and regulations, implemented nationally and regionally, that will restrict the value air transport can bring to the world.”

Michael Gill, director, Aviation Environment, in the report, said: “The industry has taken impressive steps to reduce CO2 emissions, with representatives from airlines, airports, air traffic management and manufacturing all playing their part. New technologies have been developed, alternative fuels have proved themselves to be a viable option and more efficient operating procedures are being established. Collaboratively, the industry has exceeded its annual goal of a 1.5 percent increase in fuel efficiency.”

Significant steps have been made towards achieving the industry’s two further environmental goals, stabilising net emissions by 2020 and cutting emissions by 2050 to half of what they were in 2005, Gill said.

“Positive progress has been made but now the time has come for aviation to call on leadership from governments if we are to find a common solution to meet the goal of CNG2020. Only through the agreement of a global offsetting scheme will it be possible to establish a framework for aviation that is fair, transparent, practical and cost effective.

“That is why we are urging nations to agree on a global offsetting scheme at this year’s ICAO Assembly. We really wish to ensure that the momentum created by the recent ICAO agreement for a CO2 efficiency standard for commercial aircraft is not lost. A positive outcome at ICAO will support the sustainable future of aviation,” Gill said.

IATA is holding a series of regional workshops across the globe to help raise awareness for the need for a market-based measure in the lead up to the ICAO Assembly in September. A number of these meetings started in Africa, starting off with the first in Lagos on March 10 and Nairobi on March 11.

In parallel, ICAO is hosting a series of Global Aviation Dialogues on market-based measures to address climate change in five regions, including one in Dakar, Senegal on March 23-24.