ICAO Agrees Aircraft CO2 Emissions Standards

February 8, 2016

Global aviation leaders agreed on Monday to the world's first carbon dioxide emissions standards for new and existing aircraft starting in 2020, two people familiar with the matter said.

The new standards, aimed at makers of small and large aircraft alike, were agreed to at ICAO in Montreal, amid a rift between Europe and the United States over how high to set the bar on efficiency.

The standards must still be approved by ICAO's governing council.

The new standards set a 33 percent emissions-reduction target for new large aircraft in production, starting in 2023, staggered over a five-year period.

Negotiators agreed to a second standard that would deliver a 36 percent reduction in emissions on new models of large planes starting in 2020.

The new standards would not apply to existing aircraft in service.

"This outcome was the minimum needed from ICAO for a credible first start," said Bill Hemmings, aviation director at Brussels-based Transport & Environment.

"The Europeans moved a bit, but it was not what the US administration wanted," Hemmings said.

Planes weighing 60 tonnes or more, which include commercial passenger aircraft, generate the majority of carbon dioxide emissions from the aviation sector.

Negotiators from 22 countries have been trying to come up with the world's first carbon dioxide emissions standards for aircraft as part of the industry's contribution to efforts to combat climate change.

Aviation was not included in the global climate deal reached at a UN conference in Paris in December, but ICAO had been trying to nail down the standard as the first of a two-part strategy after six years of talks.

It is due to complete a market-based approach for all airlines later this year.

"The CO2 standard will push industry to be as fuel-efficient as possible in all market conditions to reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions and the impact of aviation on climate change,” stated the Canadian paper presented at ICAO last week.

(Reuters)