Agreement on aviation emissions shapes up at UN agency meeting

The world’s first climate deal governing the aviation sector is on the cusp of being ratified, as a United Nations agency gathering got underway in Montreal on Tuesday amid criticism from environmental groups that a proposal doesn’t go far enough.

Delegates to the UN International Civil Aviation Organization general assembly are being asked to approve, within the next two weeks, a program for the industry to become carbon neutral after 2020 and to halve net emissions by 2050 compared to 2005.

Canadian Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said strong approval by the 191 countries participating in ICAO will be a significant achievement and send a strong signal to other sectors examining their environmental footprints.

“I think it will set the tone because if it goes as well as we hope it will, it will give more momentum to all the other facets of the Paris agreement,” he told reporters prior to addressing the assembly.

International aviation was excluded from the Paris climate change agreement reached last year by nearly 200 countries, including Canada.

With Monday’s support from Australia, 59 ICAO countries representing about 80 per cent of international flights have agreed to provide their support to a proposal that has been watered down to a voluntary system between 2021 and 2026.

However, several large developing countries, including India, Russia and Brazil have voiced concerns.