No technical obstacles to bringing international aviation and shipping under post-Kyoto Protocol

The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol sets outs cuts in emissions of certain gases by 2012, after which new commitments are needed. Emissions from international aviation and shipping are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. EU carbon dioxide emissions from international aviation and navigation have increased by 96 % and 50 %, respectively, between 1990 and 2005. However, both sectors are exempt from the Kyoto Protocol.

Developed countries are instead requested to work through two UN bodies, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to limit emissions from these sectors. The ICAO and the IMO have had little success in cutting emissions from the two sectors and there has been a great deal of debate surrounding their exclusion from the Kyoto Protocol.

The Oslo workshop, co-organised by the Norwegian government and EEA, focused on identifying potential technical obstacles to including international aviation and shipping from future international commitments to limit climate change. The workshop found that no genuine technical obstacles existed that could not be solved.

'If we are going to meet the long term targets of minimizing global warming to a maximum of two degrees Celsius, emissions from international aviation and shipping have to be included in future international agreements like those from all other sectors,' said Jeff Huntington, head of the environmental assessment programme at the EEA.

Links:

• Term Report: Transport and environment: on the way to a new common transport policy
• Annual European Community greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2005 and inventory report 2007
• IISD summary report - Technical workshop on emissions from aviation and maritime transport