EU teams up with alliance of developed and developing countries in final push for first-ever global deal to curb international aviation emissions

In a joint statement published today, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete and Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc call on international partners to join them in securing the first ever global scheme to curb CO₂ emissions from international aviation. The statement is supported by the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Mexico as participants in the High Ambition Coalition − the alliance of developed and developing countries that helped broker the Paris Agreement. In it, the Commissioners stress the importance of ensuring that the aviation sector contributes to achieving the global emission goals agreed in Paris. They write: “It is crucial that we once again work together as a High Ambition Coalition to secure an ambitious and robust Global Market-Based Measure, with broad participation and the widest possible emission coverage, to make the objective of stabilising CO₂ emissions from international aviation from 2020 a reality (…). As participants in the High Ambition Coalition, we are inviting you to encourage as many ICAO states as possible, in particular all major aviation states, to join from the beginning of the scheme, and to declare their intention to opt in as soon as possible, and no later than at the Assembly. Together, we must ensure, through our own action and encouraging the action of others, that the Assembly achieves the highest possible participation.” The Assembly of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will meet in Montreal from 27 September to 7 October and, after years of work, is set to adopt a Global Market-Based Measure (GMBM). The statement can be accessed in full here, as well as the annex of all the countries that have announced they will join the scheme from the start.