After more than a decade of delay and greenwashing, the global aviation industry has adopted an “aspirational” plan to hit net-zero emissions by 2050.
The plan adopted by 193 countries last week at the triennial meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal was “seen as a compromise by many,” the BBC reports. “Crucially, the UN agency’s resolution does not set targets for individual countries or airlines,” The Associated Press notes.
Analysis by the Brussels-based European Federation for Transport and Environment concluded that the plan will only offset 22% of international aviation emissions by 2030.
BBC says aviation accounts for just 2.5% of global emissions, but “scientists believe it has a much higher impact on climate change” because of the altitude at which planes fly and the water vapour in their contrails. Airlines’ emissions have been increasing twice as fast as their fuel efficiency has improved, and at the time of the 2015 Paris agreement their emissions were expected to increase 100 to 200% between 2000 and 2050—enough to single-handedly scuttle global climate targets.
ICAO and the International Air Transport Association, the industry trade group, have often been identified as obstacles to global climate action. At a past triennial meeting, a light plane flying over the ICAO headquarters carried a banner that read: “You can’t spell ‘procrastination’ without ‘ICAO’.”
Last week’s deal drew praise from some quarters, with U.S. climate envoy John Kerry tweeting his support. “Thrilled to see international aviation commit at @icao 41st Assembly to a sustainable future with a long-term climate goal… to help put aviation on the path to net zero by 2050,” he wrote.
Mark Brownstein, senior vice president for energy at the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund, said the agreement raised hope for more sustainable transportation. “But the work isn’t over,” he told AP. “Now is the time for countries to act by establishing policies that support achievement of a 2050 net-zero goal for aviation with measurable progress in the interim.”
But Transport and Environment said the voluntary deal had watered down the only tool in the industry’s emissions reduction toolbox.
“This is not the aviation’s Paris agreement moment,” said T&E Aviation Director Jo Dardenne. “Let’s not pretend that a non-binding goal will get aviation down to zero. If countries and industry are serious about this aspirational goal, they should stop bullying the EU out of its plans to finally price emissions from departing flights.”
ICAO “continues to adapt its measures for the benefit of the industry and not for the climate,” Dardenne added. “Countries, and specifically the EU, must see through this smoke screen and move forward with true green measures.”
Comments 1