AEA supports open letter urging governments to deliver on aviation industry’s climate goals

The Association of European Airlines (AEA) endorses an open letter sent to government by  a group of 28 aviation industry chief executive officers and association leaders, underlining their commitment to climate action and calling for a joint approach to help deliver maximum CO2 emissions reduction in the aviation sector. In particular, the industry group urged action to approve a meaningful market-based measure for aviation emissions, expected at a meeting of the United Nations specialised aviation agency ICAO in one year’s time.

The letter, coordinated by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), was signed by chief executives and directors general representing the full cross-section of the aviation value chain: aircraft & engines manufacturers and associations representing airlines, airports and air traffic management organisations. This new call for action follows an earlier commitment from the industry to pursue a carbon-neutral growth pathway from 2020 and to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050. The industry was the first global transport sector to develop a set of goals of limiting its CO2 emissions.

Athar Husain Khan, AEA’s CEO and co-signer of the letter, says: “AEA’s member airlines take their environmental responsibility very seriously and are continuously decreasing their carbon emissions thanks to the investment in new aircraft technologies  and by implementing new environmental friendly operational procedures.  We are also discussing with policy-makers effective regulatory which will deliver further CO2 reductions. In particular, in cooperation with our industry partners in ATAG, we fully support ICAO’s crucial work on the global market-based measure. This global measure will complement the emissions reductions resulting from new technology, efficient infrastructure and operational improvements.”

He adds: “For many years, AEA has been promoting a global solution for a global issue such as aviation’s CO2 emissions. Such a solution must be simple and avoids distortions; by contrast, a European stand-alone solution such as the EU ETS for aviation has a negative impact on the competitiveness of European airlines. We call upon European decision-makers to address this issue in the context of the forthcoming Aviation Package.”

Please find more information about AEA’s expectations and concrete proposals on how to make European airlines more competitive in the areas of environment, infrastructure, safety, security, cargo, consumers and level playing field here.