ICAO and forest offsets: Substantial opportunities and exceptional benefits (commentary)

If aviation emissions were counted as those of a separate country, that country would be ranked as a top ten emitter. The aviation industry’s activities currently contribute between 3.5 and 4.9 percent of total global emissions, and this is expected to increase to 4.4 to 6.2 percent by 2050 under a business-as-usual scenario, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. There are more than 10,000 flights operating every day around the world, and air passenger numbers are forecast to double by 2030. Without drastic and expensive technology advancements, trajectories for aviation emissions are unlikely to change substantially in upcoming decades. However, current policy is aiming to offset those emissions — with substantial benefits to other sectors, particularly global forests. Considering the scale of emissions and projected growth, the aviation sector is essential to the climate change mitigation discussion. Yet when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) member countries adopted the Paris Agreement in late 2015 — a history-making global agreement to address climate change with mitigation (emissions reduction) and adaptation (addressing and responding to climate change impacts) — the aviation industry was excluded. This created a pressing need to address aviation sector emissions — and provided a good deal of autonomy to the industry on how to do so. Graph via Linking Flight and Forests: The Essential Role of Forests in Supporting Global Aviation’s Response to Climate Change, a report published by Global Canopy Programme. Tasked with the responsibility of regulating international aircraft emissions under Article 2(2)…

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