Green Flying
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NOTE: The below originally appeared as the editorial in our March 4 One Minute Week newsletter. To find out more, and sign up for free, please click here.
Le Bourget, one of Europe’s busiest business jet airports, was the site for one of the landmark events of 2015.
The United Nations Conference on Climate Change COP21 in December, saw 186 countries agree to target a maximum temperature rise of 1.5°C. The agreement means that reducing emissions are now one of the priorities for every government in the world.
Aviation emissions were not included in the final Paris Agreement. Drafts were removed in the second week of discussions after negotiators realised they would not reach agreement. Instead, delegates agreed that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) should manage aviation emissions.
ICAO has been working on a solution since the Kyoto Summit in 1997. It also was asked to look at the process again after the European Union had tried implementing its own aviation Emissions Trading Scheme in 2012.
After many years work. It is due to announce its proposals at the ICAO Assembly in Montreal, between September 27 and October 7 2016.
Once they are announced the business aviation industry will need to react quickly. These proposals are due to be implemented by 2020 across the world.
For the last five years, environmental issues have been overshadowed by austerity. But you can be sure that this is about to change. The environment is going to be one of the key themes that every business aviation company will need to manage.
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