IATA members urge governments to adopt a single global carbon offset mechanism

IATA approved (02-Jun-2016) a resolution urging governments to adopt a single global carbon offset mechanism to address carbon emissions from international aviation at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) later this year. In encouraging the adoption of a global carbon offset mechanism, the resolution endorses current aviation industry measures to manage its carbon footprint as part of global efforts to address climate change and safeguard sustainable development and calls on governments to:

• Consider 11 recommended design elements for the mechanism that would ensure environmental integrity and simplify implementation while avoiding market distortions;
• Ensure that existing economic measures (including taxes) on a national and regional basis to manage the industry's climate change impact become redundant and that no new measures are introduced.

Under the leadership of ICAO, governments are considering a proposal for a Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) in preparation for the ICAO Assembly in Sep-2016. This resolution follows a resolution at the 2013 IATA AGM, where the industry strategy to achieve carbon-neutral growth was agreed. [more - original PR]

IATA: "The details of CORSIA are still being worked out. But as an industry we have a clear focus on what is needed. We want a cost-effective measure that leads to real and permanent carbon reductions. That mechanism should be simple, mandatory and applied on a global basis, avoiding the cost and complexity that a patchwork of uncoordinated measures would create. It must not lead to competitive or market distortions. And we can accept some flexibility in implementation, including the potential for a phasing-in of countries over time, if that is needed by governments to recognize the different levels of maturity of aviation markets," Tony Tyler, DG and CEO. Source: IATA, 02-Jun-2016.