(Photo Credit: byeangel, Flickr Creative Commons)China is no longer listed as a participant in the first phase of the UN’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), Reuters reported. The UN agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) made headway on a plan to address carbon dioxide emissions from aviation, but it looks like China has dropped out.
Citing ICAO’s June 29 list of participants in the voluntary phase of the ICAO deal, Reuters journalists Allison Lampert and Julia Fioretti reported that China was not there. “Aviation powerhouse China was included in previous lists seen by Reuters,” they wrote. “It is not clear why China now objects to the deal. The first or pilot phase begins in 2021.”
Aviation, which currently accounts for 2% of global emissions linked to climate change, was initially left out of the Paris accord along with shipping. The ICAO announced progress at a recent meeting in Montreal toward standards supporting the CORSIA plan to freeze global carbon dioxide emissions from aviation at 2020 levels. Airlines will be required to limit their emissions or purchase offsets from environmental projects.
“Future council work on CORSIA will focus on the timely realization of the remaining CORSIA implementation elements, including the evaluation of carbon market programs against a set of robust criteria, the determination of its eligible emissions units, and which aviation fuels will meet the CORSIA sustainability criteria,” the agency said.
Lampert and Fioretti noted that airlines support the UN plan as a cheaper alternative to various regional deals. “Citing ICAO figures, the Air Transport Action Group estimates CORSIA will cost airlines between $1.5 billion and $6.2 billion in 2025, depending on future carbon prices,” they wrote.
One source told the reporters that China’s move may be a negotiation tactic since talks about environmental projects for offsetting are expected to begin in the fall and the country wants its own projects to be included.
The United States remains part of the CORSIA pilot, with the FAA telling Reuters that the agency will continue to work on the implementation.
