ICAO forging ahead with plans to curb greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation

ICAO stated (21-Dec-2009) it will continue to move forward with its "aggressive plan of action" to combat climate change, even though a deal on international aviation and maritime fuels was not reached at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At a high-level ICAO meeting in Oct-2009, representing 93% of global commercial air traffic, reached agreement on further reducing aviation's impact on climate change, in cooperation with the air transport industry. Initiatives include:

• Goal of 2% p/a improvement in fuel efficiency globally until the year 2050;
• Global CO2 standard for aircraft;
• Framework for market-based measures in international aviation;
• Measures to assist developing states and to facilitate access to financial resources, technology transfer and capacity-building;
• Continued further work on the development and implementation of alternative fuels for aviation worldwide which could lead to aviation being the first sector to use sustainable alternative fuels on a global basis. [more]