The failure to agree on robust rules to prevent double-counting at the UN climate change conference puts the UN aviation body in a difficult spot as it defines which programmes will be eligible under the future aviation offsetting scheme. It will be paramount to guarantee that airlines will only be allowed to use good quality…
Sail to the COP – COP25 from two sides of the Atlantic Ocean Sail to the COP is a think tank and campaign advocating for sustainable travel. The aviation industry, for example, is a rapidly growing sector that alone is projected to emit more than the Paris Agreement carbon budget in 2050.. To put travel…
In two parallel global climate processes governments need to finalise details for both international carbon markets under the Paris Agreement and the future aviation offsetting scheme CORSIA. Meanwhile, citizens are losing patience with their leaders that move too slowly in the face of a climate breakdown. Strong action is therefore expected from decision-makers if they…
The UN aviation body must urgently set robust, science-based long-term climate targets if the industry wants to win back the confidence of both investors and customers. Many Europeans are losing patience with airlines’ defensive attitude towards the aviation industry’s climate impact and are taking matters into their own hands – by choosing not to fly. …
European countries who are members of the UN civil aviation body are keeping their work on climate policies for the aviation sector secret from their citizens, in breach of an international treaty on public access to environmental information. The Aarhus Convention covers three principles: access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making and access…
The aviation sector must not escape an effective tax on its emissions “A great, great deal has been said about the weather, but very little has ever been done” – Marc Twain On Friday 15th of March, Carbon Market Watch took to the streets with more than 30,000 people as part of the Fridays for…
During a closed door session, the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) –the UN body responsible for global aviation– approved the eligibility criteria for what offsets can be used under the new aviation pollution scheme. While an important step, the decision leaves the door open to billions of older ‘junk’ emission units that…
A new paper published in Nature Climate Change confirms that relying on outdated Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon credits to compensate aviation emissions will do nothing for climate action. You can read the full paper here (paywall): Warnecke et al. (2019): “Robust eligibility criteria essential for new global scheme to offset aviation emissions”, Nature Climate…
Aviation emissions have increased by 10% in Europe between 2014 and 2017, according to the 2019 Aviation Environmental Report, as efficiency improvements are not keeping up with growth of demand. Last week, the Dutch finance minister invited other European Member States to consider the implementation of a European carbon tax for aviation, and announced an…
This week, European Member States agreed on a common position regarding the future implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) new carbon market, set to start operating in 2021. The creation of a new offsetting mechanism for aviation, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), was agreed as part of a…
Kaisa Amaral, Communications Director
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Carbon pricing 
International transport 
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Fair climate action