The world’s first study into the impact of climate change on turbulence says flights will become less smooth, which may in turn lead to increased fuel consumption and more climate-changing emissions. The study says the increase in greenhouse gases will create changes to jet streams that will lead to more ‘clear air turbulence’.
The High Level Group (HGCC) established by ICAO last November to resolve political questions preventing agreement on a global Market-Based-Measure met for the third time in March. It was an important meeting as the first two were quite underwhelming and in some aspects went backwards. Time is running out for ICAO to have any chance of reaching substantive agreement at its forthcoming triennial Assembly next September.ICSA – the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation – representing environmental NGOs in the ICAO process, submitted a paper to HGCC3 and made a presentation to the group yesterday setting out the emissions gap between ICAO current plans and what is needed to meet the 2 degrees maximum global warming and urging agreement on a global MBM and an MBM Framework this year. Presentation and position paper attached.
A study by one of the world’s leading climate scientists says only a global market-based measure, such as a tradable price for CO2 emissions, will keep the growth of aviation carbon-neutral. The finding contradicts the line given by opponents of the EU’s plans for aviation emissions trading, and comes at a critical time in international efforts to tackle the climatic impacts of air transport. In a separate development, MEPs and Member States have sent a signal to international negotiators that the EU’s gesture to delay the enforcement of emissions trading is limited to one year, and time is running out.
New research by the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) highlights both the urgent need for concerted global action to address international aviation emissions and underlines the fact that all current and foreseen emissions reductions measures being promoted by industry and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will fall well short of those needed to prevent dangerous global warming.
A new study published today by leading atmospheric scientist Professor David Lee of Manchester Metropolitan University shows that only the adoption of a global ‘market-based measure’ can bring the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) and aviation industry’s shared goal of 2020 ‘carbon neutral growth’ by 2050 within reach. The total impact of all other CO2 reduction measures currently on the table is shown to be insufficient.
The clock may have been stopped for a year, but time is still passing. ‘Stopping the clock’ was a big gesture from the EU. With the world saying it was the EU’s decision to include aviation in its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that was preventing global action to tackle aircraft’s contribution to climate change, the EU said ‘OK, we’ll suspend our action for a year to create the chance for a global agreement.’ Yet so far, little progress has been made and the blame heaped on the EU’s ETS looks more and more like the empty excuse we always thought it was.
The ‘Durban Platform’ may become as commonly known as the Kyoto Protocol, following a loose agreement at this month’s Durban climate change summit on a plan to work towards a global climate strategy. The plan is to agree the strategy by 2015 and for it to start in 2020.