The aviation industry has agreed to reduce its net carbon emissions with the introduction of a cap on carbon dioxide emissions from 2020 and a 50 per cent cut by 2050.
Under a new scheme developed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), airlines will buy emissions units to offset their share of the sector’s growth emissions as a proportion of their total emissions each year. It begins in 2021 and applies to international aviation emissions above the 2020 level.
The scheme offers exciting opportunities for aviation to fund large-scale sustainable carbon reduction projects around the world.
IAG said, “This is a historic milestone as for the first time governments have reached agreement on a global scheme to address climate change. IAG has long campaigned for this and welcomes this significant step forward enabling aviation to address its carbon emissions”.