Eco-Aviation Channel

IATA aims for carbon neutral growth in 11 years

By Perry Flint
Eco-Aviation Today, June 10, 2009, p.1

IATA has committed to achieving carbon neutral traffic growth by 2020, the organization announced at its 65th Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur this week. "Two years ago we set a vision to achieve carbon-neutral growth on the way to a carbon-free future. Today we have taken a major step forward by committing to a global cap on our emissions in 2020," IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. After 2020, aviation will have to offset any carbon growth by purchasing credits or offsets under the plan.

The commitment is in addition to IATA's goal to achieve a 1.5% average annual improvement in fuel efficiency from 2009 to 2020 and a 50% absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Bisignani noted that airline CO2 emissions are expected to drop 7% in 2009 compared to 2008. Around 5% of this decline is owing to a reduction in seat-miles as a result of the economic downturn and 2% is owing to direct industry action.

At the AGM, IATA also reiterated its call for a "global sectoral approach for aviation" in the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Such an approach would cap aviation emissions on a global scale rather than by region as the EU intends to do by bringing airlines under the Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012. Under a global sectoral approach, IATA would work with ICAO to ensure compliance. "Airlines should get carbon credits for every cent we pay, whether in taxes, charges or ETS payments. And we should pay only once, not several times," Bisignani told delegates.

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