Thursday 28 June 2018

UN aviation agency endorses scheme to cut emissions

The UN’s specialised agency for civil aviation has approved new standards for a global agreement to reduce emissions from international flights.

Under the new rules for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), airlines must start monitoring and reporting their fuel and carbon emissions from January 2019.

They will have to implement measures to limit their emissions or offset them by buying carbon credits from designated green projects globally.

Domestic and international flights are said to account for around 2% of global CO2 emissions.

The approval from the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will allow governments and industry to make the final preparations before the regulations come into effect.

ICAO Council President Dr Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu said: “Aviation has now set out not only its climate change goals but also the means to achieve them. The progress achieved today is a clear demonstration of the unwavering commitment, on behalf of both governments and airlines, to minimise the future impact of international aviation on the global climate.”

He added the CORSIA provisions have been tested, with the support of the German Government and the participation of six other countries and 10 airlines.