UN backs changes to aviation emissions scheme in boost for airlines
A UN agency agreed on Tuesday to change a landmark aviation emissions scheme, in a boost for airlines that said they could face billions of dollars in costs under the current deal when air travel recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) governing council agreed to change the baseline year used for calculating emissions under the global CORSIA deal to 2019, the agency said in a statement.
Airlines, hit with a European-led backlash over pollution from flights, have pledged to spend billions of dollars under CORSIA to cap their emissions at 2020 levels through the purchase of carbon offsets.
Under CORSIA, which starts in 2021, airlines would buy carbon offset credits to cover any emissions from international flights above the current baseline of average emissions in 2019 and 2020.
