While securing a framework at ICAO to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation helped firm industry efforts to establish a global approach, there is little sign yet Europe might back down over its plan to bring aviation into its emissions trading scheme from 2012.
Under the framework, ICAO's 190 member states signed up to commitments including a global goal of improving fuel efficiency by 2% a year until 2050 and agreed 15 principles for states to use in market-based measures, like emissions trading schemes.
The European Union's transport division says its scheme is consistent with the 15 agreed principles, adding: "Crucially, ICAO has refrained from language which would make the application of the EU's ETS to their airlines dependent on the mutual agreement of other states."
But IATA and the Air Transport Association of America, which has launched a legal challenge to the scheme, argue the plan to "unilaterally impose" its ETS on airlines from other countries breaks the Chicago Convention.
Giovanni Bisgnani, director general at IATA which has driven moves for ICAO to adopt global targets, believes opposition to the imposition of the EU ETS during the ICAO assembly strengthens the case against the stand alone scheme. "We have 120 countries that formally made their opposition to the EU ETS. And they are big countries," he says. "I think it will be difficult for Europe to impose something."
ICAO secretary general Raymond Benjamin, says it is too early to know what impact the resolution might have on European plans. But he adds: "If you had not had a global agreement in ICAO, nobody would have thought of the ETS not being applied. Today it is a possibility."
For its part the EC transport division has promised to "engage constructively in dialogue with third countries" during the ETS implementation.
Source: Airline Business
