United Nations' ICAO agrees on how to measure aircraft carbon emissions

THE UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has agreed on a metric to define a carbon dioxide standards for new aircraft, reports Atlanta-area Air Cargo World.

This comes as fierce controversy rages over the European Union's unilateral imposition of an aircraft carbon tax for CO2 emissions beyond EU airspace, which has aroused opposition from many countries, among them, China and the US, which say such measures can only be taken legally under United Nations mandate.

In Pretoria, a recent meeting of BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, China and India) also made a strong statement against EU's carbon tax after two days of talks.

"Ministers were deeply concerned at the continued unilateral action by the EU to include international aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), including intentions for similar unilateral measures, and called for immediate withdrawal of such actions that violate the multilateral rules-based system and adversely affect trust among parties," said their joint communique.

The new UN standard, to be fully developed by the end of 2013, has been met with unanimous approval of member states represented on ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection.

"This is a tremendous achievement by the committee that has worked so diligently the past several years to reach agreement on the CO2 standard and metric system that supports it," said Boeing vice president Billy Glover.

"Our industry continues to advocate for global standards for aviation emissions developed through ICAO because the process works; this achievement is proof-positive," said Mr Glover, who heads Boeing's commercial aircraft environmental portfolio.

Said Tony Tyler, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA):"Establishing a standard for future generations of aircraft will help to ensure that the environmental benefits of the billions of dollars of airline investments in new aircraft are being maximised."

IATA also said the agreement of a metric to measure carbon emissions paves the way for ICAO to adopt a carbon standard. Such measures are also in line with the 2009 pledge of carriers, airports, manufacturers and air navigation service providers to slash carbon emissions in half by 2050.