Back to Air Transport IT Review - Issue 2, September 2009

ICAO and the environment: View from the inside

Karsten Theil
Regional Director Europe and North Atlantic, ICAO

How is ICAO involved in environmental issues?

ICAO has been producing policies, standards and guidance related to environmental protection since the early 1970s. These are aimed at problems that benefit most from a common, co-ordinated and worldwide approach in three areas, covering how to limit of reduce the:

Number of people affected by significant aircraft noise
Impact of aviation emissions on local air quality
Impact of aviation greenhouse gas emissions on global climate

The problem is that growth in air traffic is outpacing the progress that has been made in reducing emissions. We need a sustainable approach that balances demand for air transport with the impact of that growth. We need to understand how we can assign responsibility for emissions to individual states, within a context of differing views as to the most appropriate path to follow.

Our technical work in this area is now undertaken through the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), while a Group on International Aviation and Climate Change (GIACC) was formed to recommend a Programme of Action on International Aviation and Climate Change and a common strategy to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributable to international civil aviation.

Improvements to the air traffic management system (ATM) are recognized as one way of reducing emissions. How is IACO working on this?

The 1999 International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on aviation estimated that between six and 12 percent improvement in system efficiency can be achieved through ATM. We are preparing new guidance on operational opportunities which will include specific recommendations that can minimize fuel consumption. This will replace ICAO Circular 303.

In addition, ICAO Doc 9750, which is the Global Air Navigation Plan for CNS/ATM systems, focuses on how to achieve harmonized global air navigation in the near and mid-term.

I would add that military routes have always exacerbated civil inefficiencies and ICAO will be hosting a forum designed to improve civil/military cooperation in October.

What has been ICAO's involvement with emissions trading schemes and offsets?

The Guidance on Emissions Trading was adopted in 2007 by the ICAO Assembly. CAEP is now updating the Voluntary Emissions Trading for Aviation to reflect changes to some schemes, and is at work on a scoping study related to linking an international aviation emissions trading system with other greenhouse gas emissions trading systems.

What's the position regarding alternative fuels?

A number of successful in-flight demonstrations of alternative fuels have been conducted and ICAO is preparing a roadmap for the implementation of alternative aviation fuels. A critical issue is the creation of a substantive distribution infrastructure - and this and other issues will be debated at a conference, to be held from 16-18 November in Rio de Janeiro.

What's the next step in reaching international agreement?

As much as ICAO is committed to providing a comprehensive programme of action to address international aviation emissions to the Copenhagen climate change summit in December, progress is both challenging and complex. It is very difficult for Parties to take sector-specific decisions before they agree on the big picture.

In its latest report, published in May, GIACC recommended a global aspirational goal of two percent annual improvement in fuel efficiency of the international civil aviation in-service fleet. This would represent a cumulative improvement of 13 percent in the short-term (2010 to 2012), 26 percent in the medium-term (2013 to 2020) and about 60 percent in the long-term (2021 to 2050), from a 2005 base level.

Final recommendations will be presented to a high level meeting in October, when all 190 Contracting States in ICAO are invited to attend. This meeting will prepare the final ICAO Programme of Action for presentation to the Copenhagen Summit.

For more information on ICAO activities on environmental protection, go to www.icao.int/env.