ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu participated at the COP22 in Marrakesh this week, taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss the near-term priorities the UN aviation agency will be pursuing to implement the historic Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) which was agreed at its recent 39th Assembly.
"The most important priority now is the realization of our action plan for the next triennium, including the development of necessary ICAO Standards and provisions, guidance for a robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system, eligibility criteria for emissions units to be purchased by airlines, and the CORSIA’s registry architecture," she highlighted during the UNFCCC COP22 facilitative dialogue on enhancing ambition and support.
CORSIA is one element of ICAO’s “basket of measures” for addressing carbon emissions from international civil aviation. ICAO and its Member States have been pursuing these since 2010 and significant progress has been made in all areas. The measures cover four approaches, namely new and innovative aircraft technologies, operational improvements to reduce aircraft fuel burn, the development and wider deployment and use of sustainable alternative fuels, and a global market-based measure, i.e., CORSIA.
Subsequent to its endorsement in early October at ICAO, CORISA will now complement the progress being made in all other areas, contributing towards ICAO's goals for a recurring two per cent annual fuel efficiency improvement and carbon neutral growth from 2020.
"We will be working very hard in the months ahead to coordinate and provide the capacity building and assistance our Member States need to meaningfully participate in and implement CORSIA, including regional seminars and training and support for necessary infrastructure development," Dr Liu noted. She also called upon governments and international organizations to provide further technical and financial support, for CORSIA as well as the other elements in ICAO’s carbon emissions reduction strategy.
In addition to her statement at the COP22 facilitative dialogue, the Secretary General also conducted a press conference, participated in the European Parliament COP22 side event, and undertook bilateral meetings with the high-level representatives present from governments and international organizations.
