Charge airlines, break greenhouse impasse: Academic

MONDAY 19 MAY 2008

Airlines and their passengers should foot the bill for offset programs to counter spiralling international aviation carbon dioxide emissions, according to an academic from The Australian National University.

Associate Director of the ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy Andrew Macintosh is proposing a new aviation charge to break an impasse on international discussions on how to address greenhouse gas emissions related to international flights. The proposal is detailed in a working paper, Overcoming the barriers to international aviation greenhouse gas emissions abatement, which is published today.

“An emission charge could be imposed at a low level of between $5 and $15 per tonne of CO2 on all developed country flights, with developing country flights paying a lower amount to account for equity considerations. The charge would be applied to 50 per cent of emissions from inbound and outbound flights. From the funds raised, a proportion would be allocated to help reduce emissions from deforestation, thereby offsetting the carbon dioxide emissions from aviation,” he said.

“This charge would of course be passed on to the consumer, but it is a small amount of money. For example, a $10 per tonne of CO2 charge would add approximately $20 to the price of a ticket for a trip from London to Sydney – that’s about the same cost of the environmental levy that some airlines already impose on passengers under voluntary schemes.

“At the moment, some airlines are charging environmental levies, but it is in an ad-hoc way with no uniformity and many consumers are skeptical about their environmental effectiveness. Having a single mandatory scheme would be far better for the industry and the environment.”

Mr Macintosh said the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had done little to address the issue of spiralling international aviation emissions, predicted to rise by 144 per cent between 2005 and 2025.

“The best ICAO has been able to achieve is to advocate for the integration of international aviation into national emissions trading schemes (ETS). This is sound in theory, but the creation of ETSs is going to take a considerable amount of time. Waiting until countries have operationally mature ETSs before imposing a carbon price on international aviation will mean a delay of another decade or more. We have to start addressing international aviation emissions now, even if it’s with small steps,” he said.

The working paper found that ICAO’s failings are a largely a product of the complex nature of climate problems and a collection of international legal issues, and that the EU’s plan to unilaterally include aviation emissions in its ETS is illegal. A full copy of the working paper is available at: http://law.anu.edu.au/cclp/Index.asp

For more information or to arrange interviews:
Andrew Macintosh – (02) 6125 3832 / 0403 804 540
Martyn Pearce, ANU Media Office – (02) 6125 5575 / 0416 249 245