Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

CleanTechnica

Aviation

Aviation Industry Pledges To Reduce 2050 Emissions To 2005 Levels

The air travel sector has committed to reducing aviation emissions to 2005 levels by 2050 during the UN Climate Summit last month.

During the United Nations Climate Summit held last month, leading industry association in the aviation sector pledged to take action to implement several measures with an ultimate goal to bring down the sectoral emissions in 2050 to 2005 levels.

Aircraft Contrail

A number of industry associations representing airports, airlines, and other related sectors signed an agreement to implement measures to improve flight operations, develop alternate fuels, and even develop a market-based mechanism to reduce international aviation emissions.

The agreement was signed between the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports Council International, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization, and the International Business Aviation Council.

Even with the most aggressive technology and operational improvements in the aviation sector by 2050, the sectoral emissions are set to increase by about four times the 2005 emissions. As per ICAO estimates, the international aviation emissions (pdf) could be anywhere between 2.3 and 4.5 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by 2050, based on various scenarios of technology and operational improvements. In 2006, the sectoral emissions were 591 million tonnes of CO2e.

The European Union had proposed to include a large part of the international aviation sector into its emissions trading scheme from 2012 onwards. Non-EU countries led by India, China, and the United States came out with fierce opposition to the proposal with several misinformed officials calling it a “carbon tax” on flights.

The EU relented, and continued with the implementation of the emissions trading scheme within its own jurisdiction through the “stop the clock” decision in April 2013. EU’s initial move to include international flights into its emissions trading scheme is now largely seen as a strategic initiative to put pressure on the airlines and international aviation agencies to adopt measures to reduce emissions.

The ICAO now has until 2016 to agree to an international market-based mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and implement the same by 2020. Failing to achieve these milestone would mean that the EU will force its ETS on international flights originating or terminating within its jurisdiction. ICAO’s efforts towards achieving an international market-linked mechanism have so far been quite disappointing. Whether or not it is able to build consensus on such a mechanism by 2016 would also depend on the outcome of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) in Paris.

Image credit: Aleksandr Markin | CC BY-SA 2.0

 
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
If you like what we do and want to support us, please chip in a bit monthly via PayPal or Patreon to help our team do what we do! Thank you!
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
 

Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
 

Written By

Mridul currently works as Head-News & Data at Climate Connect Limited, a market research and analytics firm in the renewable energy and carbon markets domain. He earned his Master’s in Technology degree from The Energy & Resources Institute in Renewable Energy Engineering and Management. He also has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering. Mridul has a keen interest in renewable energy sector in India and emerging carbon markets like China and Australia.

Comments

You May Also Like

Batteries

When is a battery component a battery material? When the Treasury department says it is and that may lead to some drama on Capitol...

Biofuels

After stumbling on biofuel, algae finds its footing and steps up to help the concrete industry cut its carbon footprint, too.

Climate Change

Steel will not remotely be a constraint for global transformation of energy over the coming decades. We make vastly more of it per year...

Green Economy

New plant-based alternatives are pushing the envelope on sustainable fashion, and pushing petrochemicals out of the picture.

Copyright © 2023 CleanTechnica. The content produced by this site is for entertainment purposes only. Opinions and comments published on this site may not be sanctioned by and do not necessarily represent the views of CleanTechnica, its owners, sponsors, affiliates, or subsidiaries.

Advertisement