IATA pledged to cut the aviation industry’s carbon dioxide emissions by half by 2050 in a presentation to the United Nations Secretary General’s Summit on Climate Change in New York on September 22.
IATA presented a paper outlining three key emissions reduction targets for the industry. The first is to improve carbon efficiency with a 1.5 per cent average annual improvement in fuel efficiency to 2020, followed by stabilising emissions with carbon neutral growth from 2020. The industry also aims to halve emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels.
IATA CEO and director general Giovanni Bisignani also repeated calls for to address international aviation emissions through ICAO, noting that this was the direction given under the Kyoto Protocol. With Kyoto due to be replaced by a new agreement at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen this December, he also reiterated the importance of maintaining a global sectoral approach.
“Aviation is unique in its ability to move globally as a sector – from safety to e-ticketing. Retaining a global sectoral approach at Copenhagen will deliver the best results in managing reductions in aviation’s emissions,” said Bisignani.
