Climate Change News
Below are news items on climate change – many with relevance to aviation
Scope of coverage of aviation by EU Emissions Trading System now slashed by 75% until 2017
The compromise deal agreed by the European Parliament in early April means that, until 2017, only flights between EU airports will be regulated, not flights to or from the EU. So the result is that this only covers about 25% of the total EU aviation carbon emissions. About 75% of the total emissions, which were covered in the first year of the ETS, are now not covered - and will not be for years. The inclusion of aviation in the ETS, agreed in 2008, covered emissions from all flights to, from and within Europe and entered force in 2012. However, an interim one-year freeze of the law, known as ‘stop the clock’, was hurriedly agreed in late 2012 to allow time for the UN’s aviation body, ICAO, to agree a global measure to reduce aviation emissions at its 2013 triennial assembly. The EU decision included a provision that if ICAO fails to agree a global measure by 2017, the original ETS, with full coverage, will ‘snapback’ then. Bill Hemmings, sustainable aviation manager at T&E commented :"Just when the IPCC’s latest report shows how climate change is already affecting every aspect of human life, European governments and politicians have chosen to effectively scrap the only law in the world that attempts to curb aviation’s soaring emissions."
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Top economists urge UN aviation body, ICAO, to deliver global CO2 deal to pay the social costs of aviation carbon emissions
A group of 40 leading international economists has said ICAO, must develop a market-based measure that forces air transport to pay the full costs that its emissions cause to global society - ‘the social costs of carbon’. The 40, including 4 Nobel prize winners and economists from emerging economies like Brazil, India and China, have written an open letter to ICAO saying if aviation is to claim some of the earth’s remaining atmospheric capacity for emissions, it must show it is doing everything it can to create incentives for emissions reduction in the air transport sector. The economists recognise that low carbon aviation technologies are several decades away, but due to the urgency and seriousness of the threat to the climate, "every amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere should reflect the expected cost of these emissions to society as a whole." They say aviation must not be allowed to merely "buy emissions offsets in order to meet an already weak 2020 carbon neutrality target." That would fall short of being a meaningful policy and would "set a bad precedent."
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IPCC report says transport contributes 27% of global CO2 – and could double by 2050 under BAU
The latest UN IPCC report alerts global leaders to the growing threat of uncontrolled transport emissions. The UN's climate panel says that transport is set to become the world’s biggest source of CO2 emissions unless lawmakers take strong action now. They say "The transport sector accounted for 27% of final energy use and 6.7 GtCO2 direct emissions in 2010, with baseline CO2 emissions projected to approximately double by 2050." The report states: “Without aggressive and sustained policies (to cut CO2 from cars and trucks), transport emissions could increase at a faster rate than emissions from any other sector.” Progress is being made in the EU on cars, but not much on trucks and vans. As actual car performance on CO2 on the road is not as good as the theoretical level, the EC plans to introduce a new test that closes loopholes in the current system in 2017. Air travel is only given one short mention that increased use of high speed rail should replace some short haul flights. There are some very guarded comments on biofuels (written by large committee!) which mention "the risks of increased competition for land need to be managed."
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European Parliament votes to continue with partial inclusion of aviation in weakened ETS – for intra-EU flights only till at least 2016
The European Parliament voted on 3rd April to alter the ETS so that, instead of airlines being charged for all the carbon of flights into and out of the EU, the scheme will only cover carbon emissions for intra-EU flights. This is the "Stop the Clock" (STC) deal, which started in 2013. It means charges for CO2 emissions will be made for flights by European airlines, and for the very few by non-EU airlines between European airports. This severe weakening of the ETS has been caused by relentless pressure from foreign powers (USA, China, India and Russia as the main opponents), and means the ETS will only cover a small fraction of total aviation carbon emissions associated with flights to and from all European countries. The vote on 3rd reverses the position taken by the European Parliament's environment committee last month, when it rejected the change to intra-EU flights only, and very narrowly voted on a compromise that would have required non-EU flights to still pay for their CO2 emissions within EU airspace. The "Stop the Clock" weak version of the ETS will now run until the end of 2016 and the agreement allows for a return to the original full scope of the scheme from 2017 should an agreement at ICAO to implement a global market-based mechanism from 2020 not be reached at its Assembly in 2016.
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China’s trade war threats over aviation emissions “not serious”, MEPs say
The European Parliament is expected to give its final say to the highly disputed issue of aviation's inclusion in the ETS on 3rd April. The Chinese president is ending a trip to Europe, during which a 10 year deal was agreed between Airbus and China that planes could be assembled in China till 2025. This is seen as an argument for MEPs in favour of a stronger European stance on carbon emissions trading in the aviation sector. MPs against the European Parliament giving in to pressure from other countries to weaken its ETS said that the Airbus/China deal showed that the threats of a trade war if the EU did not give in were not as serious as had been made out. The deal, according to one MEP "will make my position even easier to defend ....we should not bend to economic blackmail" which is what the Chinese have been doing. Another said the EU should "... stick to our principles and stop this incessant wavering whenever the slightest signs of trouble appear, then we'd be much better positioned to achieve real progress on the international stage."
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Accenture cuts its CO2 emissions per employee by 36% over 5 years, partly due to flying less
The large global consultancy firm, Accenture, has released figures in its corporate citizenship report showing it has cut its carbon emissions per employee by 36% compared to its emissions in 2007. It says this has largely been achieved by increased use of video conferencing rather than flying, and also green procurement standards. Accenture says its CO2 emissions per person have now fallen from 4.0 metric tons to 2.6 metric tons per year, and over 80% is from flying + use of electricity. They champion "sustainable growth" [oxymoron] by using virtual collaboration technologies and exploring alternative travel arrangements. The company's total carbon emissions have risen by 26% between 2009 and 2013, as the company grew. The proportion of total CO2 emissions from flying is around 51% and has been that level (51% - 56%) since 2009. The carbon savings by Accenture mirror the savings achieved by companies working with the WWF-UK "One in Five" campaign which encourages a number of large UK firms to cut their flying by 20% over 5 years. Many far surpassed this target.
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IPCC report sets out impacts, risks and threats of rising CO2 to security, food and human well being
The IPCC has released the report from its 2nd working group as part of its 5th Assessment Report (AR5). This comprehensive report is entitled "Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability." It sets out more clearly, and warns more starkly, than it has done in previous reports, the extent of the widespread and serious negative effects of climate change. They say every part of the world will be affected, and urgent action is now needed both to reduce carbon emissions, and to adapt to the inevitable changes that will happen. The report deals with food security, water supplies and human health, among other topics, and it says rising atmospheric CO2 will mean global warming could undermine economic growth and increase poverty, and the chance of conflics. The warnings on future ability to grow food, for an every growing human population, is chilling. Negative impacts can only worsen if global average temperature is allowed to rise by 2 degrees C and the IPCC warns that by impacts may become potentially catastrophic to human societies if temperatures rise higher than 4C, which is what we should expect if global temperatures continue to rise as predicted without drastic emissions cuts. [How does a rapidly growing, very high carbon, aviation industry fit into this future?]
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EU Parliament ENVI committee narrowly votes against compromise of extending ETS “Stop the Clock” to 2016
The European Parliament's Environment Committee (ENVI) has very narrowly voted to reject a deal to exempt long-haul flights (those into and out of Europe) from paying for their carbon emissions until the end of 2016 - the so-called "stop the clock" measure. This is intended to prevent the EU from bowing to international pressure from the USA, China, India etc. Currently only intra-EU flights are included, (no long haul) so the only aviation carbon that is being paid for is from these flights. The aviation ETS is the only international climate measure in place today that tackles aviation’s soaring CO2 emissions. The compromise of an extension to 2016 would effectively have dismantled the ETS, and was not the best way forward. The vote was a clear signal to political leaders in member states, industry and foreign countries that the EU’s sovereignty is not to be undermined by external bullying, and threats of trade sanctions. The next stage is for a vote in the full Parliament on 3rd April. If the Parliament agrees to reject the compromise, then the existing law would automatically apply, requiring all flights using EU airports to pay for all their emissions.
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EU compromise on inclusion of long haul flights in the ETS faces opposition – vote on 19th March
A number of EU politicians plan to vote against a deal to exempt long-haul flights, to and from Europe, from paying for carbon emissions until the end of 2016 in an attempt to prevent the EU from bowing to international pressure. The European Parliament's 71-member Environment Committee will vote on March 19 on a deal brokered by EU diplomats earlier in March to extend a so-called "stop the clock" measure exempting intercontinental flights from regulation under its ETS. The vote on the 19th will be a preliminary indication of whether the proposal can win enough support in the full 766-strong EU Parliament, a step required before it can become law. If there is no agreement by the end of April, this is likely to reignite tensions with Europe's major trading partners (US, China, India) and risk a trade war. Failure to reach agreement on continuing to allow flights into and out of the EU not to pay for their carbon emissions would be good news for environmentalists, as it would mean that an existing law that requires all aviation to pay for emissions would automatically apply. There is a lot of internal European politics involved.
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Vote on ETS in European Parliament on 19th March on whether “stop the clock” continues to 2016 or 2020
MEPs on the European Parliament's environment committee will next week (19th) be faced with a difficult choice on aviation and the ETS – accept a humiliating surrender to America, Russian and Chinese bullying, or risk a trade war with grave economic consequences. Last week negotiators reached a deal to exempt non-EU airlines from paying for their CO2 emissions, in deference to pressure from Washington, Moscow and Beijing. The EU "stopped the clock" on the scheme, except for intra EU flights, and a decision on the next stage has to be made on when, and if, the carbon emissions from flights to and from the EU can again be included. Sticking with "stop the clock" gives advantages to hub airports just outside EU airspace, such as Istanbul, at the expense of EU competitors. The Parliament is demanding that the exemption should end in 2016 rather than in 2020, and the text agreed with member states says only an ICAO agreement which reduces emissions – rather than just halting the rise in emissions – would meet the conditions to allow carbon from flights to and from the EU to continue to be excluded. The UK wants the 2020 date. If the agreement is passed in the March 19 ENVI meeting, it will be presented at the Parliament’s plenary session on April 3 for a full vote by MEPs. If passed, the regulation will come into immediate effect.