Brussels, 09/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has just opened a public consultation on global market-based measures to reduce the climate change impact from international aviation.
The consultation will run until 30 May. Contributions are welcome from all stakeholders, in particular, from players and experts in the fields of aviation or climate change.
The Commission hopes to gather as broad a range as possible of experiences, suggestions and opinions on the policy options currently being developed at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to address the sector's emissions, given that the final outcome will have an impact on the European emissions trading scheme (ETS) from 2017 (see EUROPE 11488).
In order to take account of the future global agreement on emissions from international aviation, due to be concluded at the ICAO in September 2016 before coming into force in 2020, the EU agreed in April 2014 to amend its ETS directive (2003/87/EC), limiting application to the European economic area (EEA) until the end of 2016. The temporary derogation granted to long-haul flights has, thereby, been extended to that date.
Following the ICAO general assembly, the Commission will submit a full report to Parliament and the Council on the next steps and, in the event of the ICAO agreement being found to be inadequate, containing proposals for extending the scope of the ETS directive beyond the EEA (see EUROPE 11061).
The EU expects the ICAO to adopt a market-based mechanism in September 2016 that will allow CO2 emissions from the international aviation sector to be stabilised at the 2020 level and to establish a clear roadmap for implementation from 2020, the Commission states.
The stakes are high since emissions from this sector which has remained on the sidelines of the fight against climate change are expected to increase by at least 250% by 2050 compared with 2005. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)