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  • Proposed aviation climate deal needs work to deliver environmental goals – FlightPath 1.5 members

    At the close of the Global Aviation Dialogues (GLADs), FlightPath 1.5 expressed concern that the current proposals for a global aviation climate deal fall far short of aviation’s fair share of effort towards the global climate goals world leaders agreed in Paris last December.

    It is a welcome step forward that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN body charged with regulating aviation emissions, has published a draft text for consultation at these GLADs, but FlightPath 1.5 members still have significant concerns about the substance of the proposed deal.

    · More Action Needed: “ICAO’s upcoming General Assembly is the last chance for ICAO to prove that it can act on aviation emissions. ICAO already managed, in February this year, to agree a CO2 efficiency standard for new aircraft that will have no environmental impact. The world cannot afford a repeat.” Andrew Murphy, Aviation and Shipping Officer, Transport & Environment.

    · Lacking Ambition: “FlightPath 1.5 is a call for aviation to go beyond a 2020 offsetting target and deliver its fair share of effort towards the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degree goal. But the current text doesn’t even achieve the 2020 goal ICAO has signed up to. As currently drafted, nearly 40% of emissions above 2020 are excluded in the scheme’s early years, which is a huge dent in the scheme’s environmental integrity.” James Beard, Climate & Energy Specialist Aviation & Bioenergy, WWF-UK.

    · Non-Binding Offset Rules: “The GLADs conversation centered on the role of offsetting, the process of purchasing emissions reductions from other sectors. However, the draft proposal provides no guarantee that already-agreed strict environmental criteria will in fact be binding — potentially leaving the door open to offsets that would otherwise be banned for harmful impacts or questionable emissions reductions.” Brad Schallert, Senior Program Officer, International Climate Policy, WWF-US

    · Double-Counting: “Years of experience with market mechanisms demonstrate that strict criteria and clear safeguards against double-counting are needed if the global MBM is to have any credibility. It is also imperative that only credits with good social and environmental standards are eligible to be used. We could even see a situation where the aviation industry effectively subsidises the coal industry, if credits from fossil energy projects are not excluded.” Dr. Kat Watts, Global Climate Policy Advisor, Carbon Market Watch.

    All 191 ICAO Member States are invited to a formal round of negotiations at the High Level Meeting in May, ahead of the final decision on the proposals at ICAO’s next triennial General Assembly from September 27 to October 7, 2016.

    FlightPath 1.5 is a global campaign of leading environmental voices, dedicated to cutting aviation climate pollution and ensuring that aviation contributes its fair share to the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Find out more at www.FlightPath1point5.org.