Ministers urged to cap aviation emissions to meet carbon targets

Caroline Davies
The Guardian, Wednesday 9 September 2009
An agreement to cap aviation emissions must be reached at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen if countries are to meet targets to combat global warming, according to the committee set up to advise the government on the issue.
Rich countries should take the lead, ensuring their aviation emissions are no higher or lower than they were in 2005 by 2050, the climate change committee said in a letter to ministers.
In advance of the December meeting in Denmark, the committee said any deal to reduce emissions from flying should be "ambitious", and the aim should be for no less than the EU's current plan which require a 5% reduction in emissions from 2013 to 2020.
Writing to Lord Adonis, the transport secretary and Ed Miliband, the climate change secretary, the committee's chief executive, David Kennedy, said the measures would not force people to fly less than they do currently.
"It is vital that an agreement capping global aviation emissions is part of a Copenhagen deal," he said.
"We are calling for a cap that would not require people to fly less than today, but would constrain aviation emissions growth going forward," he said.
"Such a cap together with deep emissions cuts in other sectors would limit the risk of dangerous climate change and the very damaging consequences for people here and in other countries that this would have."
Without steps to stop growth in aviation emissions planes could account for as much as a fifth of all CO2 produced worldwide by 2050, the committee warned.
The committee said it supported plans to include flying in the EU-wide emissions trading scheme, which would give the aviation industry some "carbon credits" to cover some of their output and let them purchase allowances from greener companies to make up the shortfall. But in the long term real cuts must be made, rather than rich countries relying on "offsetting" their emissions by purchasing credits from poorer countries under international trading schemes.
A government spokesman said: "The UK now has the toughest climate change regime for aviation of any country in the world and we will bring international pressure for aviation emissions to be part of global deal on climate change at the Copenhagen conference later this year."
Greenpeace climate change campaigner Vicky Wyatt said any government would find it "almost impossible" to build a third runway at Heathrow if they followed the committee's advice.