With Doubling of Flights Expected in Next 15 Years, Secretary-General Praises New Global Rules to Curb Carbon Emissions from Air Travel

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption today of the first global market-based measure to limit the rapid growth of emissions from the international aviation sector by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  ICAO’s new rules mark the first time that Governments have agreed to a mechanism to curb emissions from the aviation industry.

The new rules will curb carbon emissions from passenger and cargo airplanes as of 2020 through a carbon offset mechanism, which is voluntary until 2027.  The Secretary-General commends the scores of countries, including the world’s two largest emitters — China and United States — that have pledged to join the new system at its outset in 2020.  Greenhouse-gas emissions from aviation are growing rapidly, with the number of flights worldwide expected to double in the next 15 years, and account for a quarter of all emissions by 2050.

The new rules by ICAO come just a day after the Paris Agreement crossed the double thresholds needed to enter into force, and represent the latest in a series of successful multilateral efforts to reduce the risks of dangerous climate change.

The Secretary-General commends this important first step to limit carbon emissions from air travel and calls for further strengthening of emissions standards as quickly as possible, in line with the scientific imperative for action.  He encourages Governments to seize the next major opportunity this month to reduce global emissions by supporting an amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons, a potent, short-lived greenhouse gas.