ATW Daily News

Airline heavyweights look to lead on aviation's inclusion in global emissions scheme

Friday February 13, 2009

Air France KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and UK airports operator BAA announced formation of the Aviation Global Deal Group, which yesterday expressed its support for inclusion of carbon dioxide emissions in a "new global climate deal" scheduled to be discussed at December's United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen.

Meeting in Hong Kong, AGD argued for a "fair and effective global policy solution" on aviation emissions, which were not included in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and are not managed under any current global agreement. ICAO, which the group supports, is working on its own cap-and-trade plan (Eco-Aviation Today, Feb. 10), while the EU plans to include aviation in its controversial trading scheme from 2012 (ATWOnline, Nov. 14, 2008).

The four airlines and BAA said any global emissions policy must "offer genuine environmental benefits. . .be operationally and economically sound. . .maintain competitiveness between airlines and avoid market distortions. . .[and] balance the social and economic benefits of flying with the industry's responsibility to cut global emissions."

Cathay CEO Tony Tyler said, "Aviation has a key part to play in reducing global emissions and for too long has been seen as part of the climate problem rather than part of the solution. We hope the work of our group will offer a practical industry-led solution that creates a level playing field and appeals to policy-makers, environmental groups and businesses alike." AGD said it will seek support from other airlines and industry stakeholders.

by Brian Straus

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