Airlines urge UN to back deal to curb emissions
Source: Reuters
Airlines urge UN to back deal to curb emissions
Reuters
theguardian.com, Tuesday 24 September 2013 11.17 BST
Airlines on Monday urged a UN aviation group to back a mandatory global framework to curb airline emissions, saying failure to reach a deal would revive threats of a trade war.
The International Air Transport Association, which represents some 200 airlines, said the United Nations' aviation agency could agree on a new system when its 191 states begin their assembly in Montreal this week.
The UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which sets standards for air travel, is under pressure to make headway toward resolving one of the worst aviation disputes in years, pitting the European Union against its trade rivals. The ICAO meets in full once every three years.
Greenhouse gas emissions from commercial flights are growing at a steep rate. The EU in 2011 came up with regulations to charge airlines for carbon emissions on flights to and from Europe over EU airspace. But it has suspended the scheme to allow opponents led by China and the United States to agree on a global plan to curb aviation emissions under UN auspices. The EU has threatened to reimpose the scheme if there is no deal.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/24/airlines-un-deal-curb-emissions
