Airlines grapple with rich, poor divide in global emissions scheme
By Victoria Bryan MIAMI (Reuters) - Diplomats working to reduce carbon emissions from passenger planes globally may give some developing countries more leeway to meet new rules, a key official with the world's main airline industry group said on Tuesday. Paul Steele, senior vice president at the International Air Transport Association, emphasized that nothing has been decided, but outlined some options being discussed at the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). ICAO is working on two policies to address greenhouse gas emissions from the global aviation sector for adoption in 2016 - a market-based system to enable airlines to reduce emissions by buying carbon offsets or allowances and a global emission standard for aircraft. "There's a number of ideas about stringency or even time, where you let certain states reach a certain standard at a different time," said Steele. Steele said ICAO countries hope to narrow down options for a market-based system early next year and agree on it by next September. Meanwhile, ICAO counties will unveil its CO2 standard in February. Standards that vary around the world would be an unusual move for ICAO, a Montreal-based agency that helps governments coordinate aviation policy. Typically its guidelines are meant to apply without discrimination to all member states. Setting different targets and standards could ease tension between emerging economies and richer states that has dogged ICAO's years-long push to develop a global, market-based system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the ICAO talks and wider UN climate change negotiations, some states have argued that developed countries should shoulder most of the burden of cutting emissions. The issue is particularly complex in aviation, because some financially vulnerable airlines are based in rich countries. A recent working paper from Russia, India and China obtained by Reuters said proposals in the works would let some players "preserve their leading positions" in aviation, rather than solving environmental problems. The paper suggested that ICAO may not be able to agree on a plan in time for next year's general assembly, as planned. Steele, a key figure in the ICAO talks since before the last general assembly in 2013, disagreed: "I'm more optimistic now than I've ever been that there will be an agreement next year," he said. "ICAO's States have every intention of delivering a practical (market-based measure) proposal to next year's Assembly," ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin said in an email. (Writing by Allison Martell; Additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Valerie Volcovici in Washington; Editing by Christian Plumb)
