Airline industry calls for global solutions to climate change

Leaders in the world’s aviation industry have called on those gathering in Copenhagen for the climate change conference to rectify the omission of global airline emissions at Kyoto twelve years ago by allowing the industry to join in with the world wide effort to tackle the effects of climate change.

The airline industry has already implemented CO2 reduction targets through the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Air Transport Association and now wants to be included in any future international climate change agreements. Speaking at the ICAO meeting being held in conjunction with the Copenhagen talks Giovanni Bisgnani, director general of IATA said that a great deal was already being done to reduce the airline industry’s carbon footprint. He pointed out that this year the recession as well as direct measures implemented by the airline industry’s governing bodies would see a reduction of CO2 emissions of around seven percent.

Willie Walsh, BA’s CEO said that now was the perfect time for a rectification of the non-inclusion of the airline industry at the Kyoto talks. ICAO council president, Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez echoed the sentiment and said that unless some bold decisions were made on how to limit the airline industry’s carbon emissions chances were that demand for airline travel would exceed the ability to reduce air travel’s effect on the world’s climate.

Speaking out against the introduction of regional and national solutions to cutting carbon, Tony Tyler, CEO at Cathay Pacific pointed out that it was impossible to assign the reduction of emissions from an international flight to one country. He called for international agreement as the best way to avoid confusion.