Global Binding Aircraft
Emission Standards on the Anvil
• 2% of All CO2 Emission are from
Flying Machines
The
UN’s civil aviation organization announced on Monday that it had reached a deal
on global, binding standards for airplane carbon dioxide emissions, bringing to
a close a six-year negotiating process.
The news came during a 1-12 February meeting of the
International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Committee on Aviation
Environmental Protection, which is also set to tackle topics such as aircraft
noise, alternative aviation fuels, and technical issues regarding plans for a
global market-based aviation measure.
The aircraft emissions standard will go to the Montreal-based
agency’s Governing Council for approval later this year. Individual member
states would then need to incorporate the standard into their national laws or
regulations.
Aircrafts presently accounts for under two percent of the
world’s annual CO2 emissions. The projected doubling of global passengers and
flights by 2030 must be managed responsibly and sustainably. Other figures have
placed aviation’s share of global emissions at even higher, at three percent.
The
standard announced on Monday will, once adopted, be fully applicable
to all new plane designs starting in 2020; to planes currently in production
from 2023, and to all planes produced from 2028 onward.
The ICAO expert committee stressed that the standard will
apply to planes of all sizes and types. The standard would have the greatest
implications for large aircraft, the committee added, given that they cause the
vast majority of aviation emissions.