The International Civil Aviation Organisation agreement on a mechanism to reduce aviation emissions has been welcomed by freight forwarder organisations FIATA and CLECAT.
The ICAO’s 38th general assembly has agreed to come up with a global market based measure for international aviation for implementation from 2020.
The aim is to have carbon neutral growth from 2020 and halving emission by 2020 based on 2005 levels.
Jean-Claude Delen, FIATA’s immediate past president, said: “This agreement is an important step and we do expect that the aviation industry, like any other industry continues to seek for emissions reductions through improved technology, operations and alternative fuels to reduce emissions.”
Nicolette van der Jagt, director general of CLECAT which represents forwarders in Europe, pointed out that the resolution creates however uncertainty regarding the future of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
“For us, any application of the EU ETS should as a matter of principle avoid discrimination and unfair competition among the airlines. Therefore, we urge the EU to clarify its intention regarding the EU ETS. At the same time, the text contains some loopholes and the challenge remains to keep all developing countries on board and to have them to participate in the MBM.”
