“Flightpath 1.5” campaign launched to urge the UN’s ICAO to tackle aviation’s CO2 emissions by September

Leading environmental NGOs have launched FlightPath 1.5, a global campaign to cut aviation CO2 emissions and ensure that aviation contributes its fair share to the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Aviation was not directly addressed in the COP21 Paris climate agreement in December 2015. The FlightPath 1.5 campaign is focused on ensuring that ICAO and its 191 Member States adopt a meaningful new agreement at the upcoming Assembly in September this year. If ICAO fails to take bold steps, aviation emissions are projected to triple by 2050, threatening to undermine efforts to limit planetary warming to no more than 1.5°C. The next Assembly won’t happen again for another three years, meaning that time is pressing to get an agreement. FlightPath 1.5 calls for capping and cutting CO2 emissions of the entire international aviation sector. It advocates an aggressive and transparent ICAO deal that: (1). Initially caps net CO2 emissions of international aviation at 2020 levels; (2) Encourages airlines to meet the cap by cutting their own emissions and lets them use market-based measures as well, if these deliver genuine cuts; and (3).  Reviews the cap regularly, so that over time, aviation’s climate pollution can be ratcheted-down in line with the Paris target. The groups involved include AEF, Carbon Market Watch, Environmental Defense Fund, ICCT, T&E and WWF.
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“FlightPath 1.5 is a global campaign of leading environmental voices, dedicated to cutting aviation climate pollution and ensuring that aviation contributes its fair share to the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5° C above pre-industrial levels.”

The FlightPath 1.5 campaign website  http://www.flightpath1point5.org/

Flightpath 1.5 images

100 days COP21 Paris

Flightpath 1.5 campaign launches 100 days after the Paris Agreement to urge the UN to tackle aviation’s CO2 emissions

–United Nations Aviation Draft Resolution a Positive First Step,
But Improvement Required to Meet Paris Climate Agreement Objectives–

WASHINGTON D.C. | BRUSSELS | LONDON

Prominent environmental organizations today launched FlightPath 1.5, an international campaign aimed at solving the defining global climate change issue of 2016: reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the airline industry.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations (UN) decision-making body charged with regulating aviation emissions, takes up the issue in September. If it fails to take bold steps, aviation emissions are projected to triple by 2050. Aviation, a top-ten global polluter, was not directly addressed in the landmark COP21 Paris climate agreement agreed to 100 days ago today.

In response to the growing urgency to address aviation emissions, FlightPath 1.5 is focused on ensuring that ICAO and its 191 Member States adopt a meaningful new agreement in 2016.

The time window for action is tight: October 7, 2016 is the last day of the two-week ICAO
Assembly, and the next Assembly won’t happen again for another three years. Inaction by
ICAO threatens to directly undermine efforts to limit planetary warming to no more than
1.5°C. The Paris Agreement set the 1.5°C target to avoid a climatic tipping point of irreversible climate impacts.

The launch of FlightPath 1.5 builds on ICAO’s recent release of a Draft Resolution on a
Market-Based Measure (http://bit.ly/1S6zorq) and the upcoming Global Aviation Dialogues
(http://bit.ly/1UjlW6M), at which government, industry, and civil society stakeholders will
discuss the Draft Resolution beginning this week.

FlightPath 1.5 calls for capping and cutting emissions of the entire international aviation
sector and is advocating for an aggressive and transparent ICAO deal that:

1. Initially caps net carbon emissions of international aviation at 2020 levels;

2. Encourages airlines to meet the cap by cutting their own emissions and lets them use market-based measures as well – but only if those measures deliver high-quality
emission reductions and low-carbon biofuels that promote sustainable development;
and,

3. Reviews the cap regularly, so that over time, aviation’s climate pollution can be
ratcheted-down in line with the Paris target.

In the lead-up to the ICAO General Assembly, FlightPath 1.5 will spend the next 200 days
urging world leaders to confront the aviation emissions climate gap and educating the public
about the importance of this unaddressed issue.

The campaign is spearheaded by the Aviation Environment Federation, Carbon Market Watch, Environmental Defense Fund, The International Council on Clean Transportation, Transport & Environment, and World Wildlife Fund.

Statements from FlightPath 1.5 Members:

“World leaders committed to a 1.5°C target in Paris to safeguard families and communities
from the impacts of climate change. Now, countries need to fulfill their Paris promises by
ensuring that the aviation industry does its fair share. ICAO’s draft global market-based
measure is an important step in reaching agreement in October, but the text does not
currently align with the environmental goals of the Paris Agreement. Governments should
come together over the coming months to improve it.”

– Brad Schallert, Senior Program Officer for International Climate Change Policy at World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

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“Curbing aviation emissions will require more than currently available technological
improvements, making a market-based measure an essential tool to efficiently incentivise the
industry to achieve deeper cuts. We can’t assume that the biofuels and other radical
technological breakthroughs will automatically materialize and put aviation on a flightpath in
line with 1.5°C. A well-designed market-based measure is the safety net the aviation industry
needs.”

– Tim Johnson, Director for Aviation Environment Federation (AEF)

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“The agreement in ICAO must be a starting point, not the end, of greater ambition in Europe.
With the EU having committed to a 40% emissions reduction by 2030, all sectors including
aviation must contribute. The ICAO Agreement must recognize the need for developed
countries to do more, and Europe must take up the baton with more effective measures to
reduce the rapid growth in the emissions of its aviation sector.”

– Bill Hemmings of Brussels based Transport & Environment

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“The recently proposed CO2 aircraft standard won’t drive emissions down in this fastgrowing
sector. U.S. President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau just announced
their commitment to get a deal at the ICAO Assembly this year. We call on them and other
world leaders to agree a market-based measure that truly delivers.”

– Annie Petsonk, International Counsel at Environmental Defense Fund.
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FlightPath 1.5 is a global campaign of leading environmental voices, dedicated to cutting aviation climate pollution and ensuring that aviation contributes its fair share to the goal of limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Find out more at   www.FlightPath1point5.org

https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/7e188b5e-8fd8-4710-93ab-f0ac17a7d7fc/FlightPath%201.5_Press%20Release.pdf?id=26473


 

Visit

The FlightPath 1.5 campaign website

Download

The checklist for an effective plan to cut aviation CO2 emissions

An FAQ document outlining the key issues   

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http://www.aef.org.uk/2016/03/21/flightpath-1-5-campaign-launches-100-days-after-the-paris-agreement-to-urge-the-un-to-tackle-aviations-co2-emissions/

 


 

See also:

Why aviation needs to be part of any agreement at the Paris Climate Conference