The International Civil Aviation Organization’s 39th triennial assembly is expected to wrap up Friday with a global agreement on market-based measures (MBMs) as a means to help reduce the aviation community's carbon dioxide footprint. “The path to an MBM for international aviation has been a complex one, for all concerned, but it has also been a process characterized by a high level of political will and a clear motivation among state and industry parties to realize a practical and consensus-driven global approach,” said ICAO Council president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu as the event opened last week.
The Air Transport Action Group, representing a cross-section of industry, released a statement on the eve of the assembly urging participating states to take action and endorse a global program. As part of that statement, International Business Aviation Council director general Kurt Edwards offered support from the business aviation community. “As part of a broader package of measures, including infrastructure modernization, new technology and operational improvements, a global carbon-offsetting scheme for international aviation will help the industry meet its goals,” Edwards said. “We join with our industry peers in encouraging states meeting at ICAO to agree on a global measure that is fair, proportionate and administratively simple.”
Airport Council International’s World General Assembly also reaffirmed its support for such a program last week, formally adopting a resolution on the matter.
