Press Release
Issued by International Business Aviation Council.
October 6, 2016
The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) has welcomed today's decision at the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to establish a global carbon-offsetting scheme to address international aviation carbon emissions.
Kurt Edwards, director general of IBAC, said, “The worldwide business aviation community welcomes the decision by governments at ICAO to establish a single, global carbon-offsetting scheme for international aviation. The framework agreed at ICAO will help us meet our collective industry commitments while also taking into account the needs of small operators. Importantly, the global framework means we will avoid a patchwork of multiple measures around the world.”
The resolution agreed by the ICAO Assembly establishes a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to be applied from 2021 in order to meet the aspirational goal of carbon-neutral growth of international aviation emissions from 2020.
States will volunteer to participate in the pilot phase (2021-2023) and the first phase (2024-2026). From 2027, the second phase shall include all states that have 0.5 percent of total international revenue tonne kilometers (RTK). Sixty-five states representing 84 percent of total international RTK have announced their intent to participate in the pilot phase. The CORSIA will apply to international flights between the participating countries only. Domestic flights are not covered.
The resolution recognizes the potential administrative burden for both small operators and states. In particular, the resolution provides for exemptions for operators that emit annually fewer than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 in international flights and for aircraft under 5,700 kg MTOW. Nonetheless, business aviation is known for its cutting-edge technologies allowing aircraft to operate as efficiently as possible, e.g., first sector to incorporate winglets, most up-to-date avionics, and lighter, composite materials.
Over the next year, technical work at ICAO will develop the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) to establish the CORSIA. IBAC experts will continue to represent the interests of business aircraft operators in this technical work, with a view to ensuring administrative simplicity for those operators that participate in the scheme. Once agreed by the ICAO Council, the SARPs will have to be incorporated in national laws or regulations by individual states.
In 2009, IBAC with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) issued the Business Aviation Commitment on Climate Change. The sector established several aspirational goals: two percent annual fuel efficiency improvement to 2020; carbon-neutral growth from 2020; and 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions in 2050 relative to 2005 levels. Much of the progress toward meeting these goals will come from technology improvements, including sustainable alternative fuels, infrastructure modernization, and operational improvements. The CORSIA will be another tool in this basket of measures allowing the industry and governments to achieve these goals.
