How Will Measures to Reduce Carbon Emissions Impact Operators? The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an agency of the United Nations (UN), formalized a resolution earlier this year that puts global market-based measures into effect that will help curtail CO2 emissions from aviation. But, what will this mean for aviators?
There is an ongoing push to put meaningful controls in place by some UN member states. Specifically, European Union (EU) members and the U.S. are anxious for reforms to help manage aviation’s impact on climate change. Though domestic and international aviation contributes only 2 percent of the world’s total carbon emissions, that percentage is expected to rise significantly between now and 2040.
This was the finding per an environmental assessment from the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) at the 39th Session of the ICAO Assembly held in Montreal, Canada from September 27 to October 7, 2016. Moreover, aircraft fuel efficiency is expected to contribute a 1-to-2 percent reduction in emissions while fuel consumption from international aviation is expected to increase by 2.8 to 3.9 times, compared to 2010.
The goal was to settle on global market-based measures (MBMs) that would ensure a reduction despite the projected growth in air traffic. By design, MBMs are intended to be flexible policy tools for achieving environmental goals at a lower cost than their traditional regulatory counterparts. In theory, this would lessen the shock and financial burden for smaller companies and private aviators who must comply with the new standards.
Several countries have been patient in allowing CAEP, under the auspices of ICAO, to develop a global MBM scheme to facilitate the implementation of these new standards worldwide. For instance, the EU established the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) as a cap-and-trade approach to governing emissions in Europe. The EU decided to hold off on its full implementation, however, in hopes of a more comprehensive global approach from the UN. (See the EU-ETS Stop-the-Clock blog for more details.)
The new resolution to come out of the 39th Session of the ICAO Assembly is expected to be a genuine step in the direction of carbon-neutral growth by 2020 and onwards for international aviation. The global MBMs agreed upon, known as ICAO’s Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). This will augment the non-MBM mitigation measures that resulted from the 38th Session in 2013. CORSIA should help harmonize the global effort and foster efficiencies, which would be far preferable to results achieved from regional and localized approaches.
CORSIA is slated for a voluntary pilot phase from 2021 to 2023; a voluntary Phase 1 from 2024 to 2026; and a mandatory Phase 2 from 2027 to 2035. Exemptions will be given to developing countries and countries with low levels of international aviation. Agreement to this required a significant concession on the part of the EU, which wanted mandatory participation starting in 2021. In turn, the EU lobbied for a greater number of voluntary participants to adopt the measures from the outset. Sixty-six nations or 86 percent of the ICAO member states have signed on voluntarily for the early phases. China, India, and Russia, however, remain holdouts at this point for achieving a global agreement with ICAO. Even if they do agree to comply with the resolution, it’s uncertain whether they would be prepared to implement it during the early voluntary phases.
The other shoe to drop is what shape and form the governance element of the scheme will take. In practical application, what will it look like? Who will define it? The resolution draft does not address governance nor does it rule out those decisions being sorted out behind closed doors over the next three years.
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Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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