US Government Pushes for Stricter Aircraft Carbon Emission Regulations at ICAO Assembly

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The U.S. government is strongly pushing to tighten regulations on aircraft carbon emissions, according to a report by the online media Axios on the 30th of last month (local time).

In an exclusive interview with Axios, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg introduced that the U.S. is holding multilateral talks with other countries in Montreal to set stronger emission reduction targets in the aviation sector, and said that the newly enacted climate law serves as a diplomatic lever.

The U.S. government is discussing the introduction of aircraft carbon emission regulations through multilateral talks at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) General Assembly currently being held in Montreal, Canada.

Although the aviation sector accounted for only 2% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions last year, the amount is steadily increasing.

Aviation is excluded from the Paris Agreement and its management and supervision are entrusted to international cooperative organizations like ICAO, leading to criticism that carbon emission reductions are slow.

Secretary Buttigieg explained that the U.S. government feels an urgent need to have all countries participate in achieving net-zero carbon emissions in the aviation sector by 2050 and is attending this ICAO General Assembly for that reason.

He self-assessed that thanks to policies such as the recently passed bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Climate Law, the U.S.'s credibility as a climate leadership country has greatly increased at the ICAO General Assembly.

He added, "At last year's Glasgow climate conference in the UK, there was much skepticism about the U.S. proposal, but in this discussion, we are receiving strong support, and it is encouraging that the U.S. is in a leadership position."

The U.S. also supports ICAO's proposal to apply stricter standards to the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Climate-related matters at the ICAO General Assembly are scheduled to be reviewed next week.