Main Options for a GMBM at ICAO During its High-level Meeting in May 2016

Briefing 15-04-2016

In 2010, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted an aspirational goal to achieve Carbon Neutral Growth from 2020 (CNG2020). Despite efficiency improvements, CO2 emissions from international aviation are projected to be seven times higher in 2050 than in 1990. At the Paris climate conference (COP21), countries agreed to limit climate change to well below 2°C. Without considerable contributions of the aviation sector to global mitigation efforts, this goal will be much harder to achieve. CNG2020 is unlikely to be sufficient in the long term. In 2013, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) established a working group for developing a Global Market-Based Measure (GMBM), which should be adopted in 2016 and come into force in 2020. The main issues at stake at the high-level meeting are the design options of the GMBM, particularly how the offset obligation can be distributed among airlines, how special circumstances and respective capabilities (SCRC) of states can be reflected, how the target of carbon neutral growth from 2020 onwards can be achieved and how environmental integrity can be ensured through environmentally reliable offset units.