World gathering to vote on aviation sector emissions pact
If approved, groundbreaking plan would curtail huge pollution source
Representatives from nearly every country in the world will convene in Montreal this week to vote on an environmental accord for the aviation sector — a proposal that, if approved, will be the first global emissions pact ever reached for a single industry.
After more than a decade of work, the International Civil Aviation Organization, a Montreal-based agency of the United Nations, has come up with a draft proposal that aims to cap emissions from international flights at 2020 levels.
It’s an ambitious and potentially groundbreaking scheme that would curtail a significant source of pollution — international aviation currently accounts for 1.3 per cent of global carbon emissions, according to ICAO — but could also result in higher costs for airlines and their passengers.
That hasn’t stopped the airlines’ global trade association from supporting the proposal, however, and even expressing its desire for a more stringent pact.
“The aviation industry would have preferred a more ambitious timeline than is currently outlined in the draft text,” Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, said in a statement.
“However, what is most important is that the substance of the negotiating text will allow for meaningful management of aviation’s carbon footprint. Airlines support it and urge governments to agree when they meet at ICAO.”
From the airline industry’s perspective, a global pact is better than a complex and costly patchwork of regional regulations.
Although the industry has been talking about a global emissions accord since the mid-1990s, the proposal took on steam in 2012 when the European Union said it would require airlines to buy carbon permits for all flights into or out of Europe. This prompted a backlash that forced the EU to back down and agree to wait for an international deal.
The EU example is a good illustration of why a global pact is necessary, said Annie Petsonk, international counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Defense Fund.
“For a flight from Montreal to Washington, whose emissions are those? Or how about a flight from Washington to Oslo that goes through Canadian airspace?” said Petsonk, who has been studying the issue of airline emissions for more than 20 years. “There was a great amount of hand-wringing over how to allocate those emissions.”
ICAO will ask members to vote on its proposal at its triennial assembly in Montreal, which runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 7.
If approved, the pact will be voluntary from 2021-26, then mandatory for all but a few exempted countries from 2027. It will create a carbon market where airlines can buy credits to offset any emissions above 2020 levels, while also encouraging them to reduce emissions through new technologies, operational improvements and the use of alternative fuels.
It has its share of detractors, but the general consensus is that it strikes the balance necessary to get a critical mass of countries to sign on.
“A mandatory approach would be simpler and ensure a level playing field for all carriers,” said Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick. “However, we recognize that there needs to be political acceptability amongst a wide variety of states to get an agreement.”
WestJet Airlines Ltd. agreed, calling it the industry’s best shot at reducing emissions.
“Global, consistent application will be much more effective and cost efficient than the different measures that could spring up around the world,” said spokeswoman Lauren Stewart. “The nature of our sector is global and so should be the solution to carbon emissions in aviation.”
ICAO has estimated that carbon offsetting will cost the industry 0.2 to 0.6 per cent of total revenues in 2025 and 0.5 to 1.4 per cent of total revenues by 2035.
“I would like to emphasize that our efforts to address environmental concerns are not incompatible with the competitiveness of the aviation industry,” ICAO president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu said in an email. “Quite on the contrary, given the important financial incentives of fuel efficiency, reducing environmental impact has always been a key consideration for aviation.”
If airlines pass the cost on to travellers, Petsonk estimates it could add US$6 to $7 to a round-trip ticket for a long-haul trip.
“For comparison, that’s about the cost of a beer on a U.S. domestic flight,” she said.
Fifty-five countries, including top aviation emitters the U.S., China and the United Arab Emirates, have already said they will participate in the voluntary phase. Canada, which ranks 12th in the world, will also opt in.
The risk for countries that do opt into the voluntary phase of the agreement is that they will be imposing higher costs on their airlines, potentially hurting their ability to compete with those countries that don’t, said Robert Kokonis, president and managing director of airline consultancy AirTrav Inc.
A mandatory approach would be simpler and ensure a level playing field for all carriers.