Watch This! NGO Newsletter #14: 2016, a key year to pressure aviation to do their fair share!

Following the Paris Agreement, 2016 will be another crucial year for climate as countries are set to adopt the first ever agreement on limiting the emissions of the aviation sector. So far however, the proposal is far from being ambitious. It is up to the civil society to raise awareness on this issue and hold …

Watch This! NGO Newsletter #14: Carbon Market Watch’s priorities for 2016

Following the adoption of the landmark Paris agreement, our plate will be full with important campaigns in 2016. Our objective? Ensure that policies are accountable and ambitious enough to achieve countries commitment to limit global warming to 1,5C. Here is a short overview of our priorities at the international level. Ensure accountability of climate action Governments …

Take-off Toolkit: Acting on Aviation Emissions

Background In October this year, member countries of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will decide what role the aviation sector should play in tackling climate change. As this will be the first important milestone in tackling aviation emissions, civil society must play a decisive role in lobbying for stringent rules, ambitious targets, and …

Aviation emissions: letters to national environment Ministers

2016 will be key for the aviation sector, responsible for 4.9% of global yearly greenhouse gas emissions. In October, UN member countries, gathered under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) assembly, will decide what role aviation should play in tackling climate change. Only an ambitious agreement can fulfill the Paris agreement objective to limit global …

Direction of aviation’s market based mechanism still up in the air

“Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” ― Henry David Thoreau Unfortunately for Thoreau, humans did conquer the skies, and aviation is now a significant contributor to climate change, contributing more CO2 to the atmosphere in 2014 than the combined emissions of the 129 lowest emitting countries[i]. …

Paris forges momentum towards enduring climate action

Paris, 12 December 2015 – Today, at the UN climate talks in Paris a global deal where all countries have agreed to take action on climate change was adopted. Carbon Market Watch comments on the long-term goal, the ambition ratcheting mechanism, provisions for the use of markets, the establishment of a new mechanism, human rights provisions, bunker emissions, pre-2020 action and the impact of the Paris treaty on EU’s climate policies.

Elephants in the room – time to trumpet the need for emissions cuts from aviation and shipping

Despite being major sources of emissions, international aviation and shipping are remaining below the radar of many negotiators in Paris – they are the elephants in the room. This is a shame, as together they account for around 5% of global CO2 emissions and have massive growth rates in emissions anticipated (50-250% by 2050 for …

International aviation could meet climate commitments using only high quality emission reductions, new report shows

Brussels, 22 October 2015. A new study by Oeko-Institut analyses for the first time potential carbon offset supply for a global market-based mechanism for international aviation emissions to be adopted in 2016. The study estimates that the entire demand could be met by carbon offsets from existing projects registered under the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism. Even if applying exclusion criteria for contentious project types, such as coal power and other non-additional projects, the supply would still be sufficient for eight years.