Aviation and the Global Atmosphere

Aviation and the Global Atmosphere
10.2.2. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Although the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) does not specifically refer to emissions from aviation, its coverage includes
emissions from all sources. One of the commitments in the Convention is that parties to the Convention compile national inventories of their emissions sources
(UNFCCC, 1992).
IPCC guidelines provide advice on the quantification of aviation emissions (IPCC, 1996e). Even after aviation emissions have been quantified, an important distinction
is whether such emissions are domestic or international. For domestic flights, emissions are considered to be part of the national inventory of the country within which
the flights occur. The IPCC guidelines require international aviation emissions to be estimated by the country where the fuel is sold, although such emissions are not to
be included in that country's total emissions. For international flights, the problem is how to allocate the emissions (referred to as "emissions from international aviation
bunker fuels" in UNFCCC terminology, although "international" is not always specified) to national inventories. A similar problem exists for shipping.
In an attempt to resolve this problem, the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) has been presented with the following allocation
options for emissions from international aviation and marine bunker fuels (UNFCCC, 1996):
. Option 1-No allocation
. Option 2-Allocation of global bunker sales and associated emissions to parties in proportion to their national emissions
. Option 3-Allocation according to the country where the bunker fuel is sold
. Option 4-Allocation according to the nationality of the transporting company, or to the country where an aircraft or ship is registered, or to the country of the
operator
. Option 5-Allocation according to the country of departure or destination of an aircraft or vessel; alternatively, emissions related to the journey of an aircraft or
vessel shared by the country of departure and the country of arrival
. Option 6-Allocation according to the country of departure or destination of passengers or cargo; alternatively, emissions related to the journey of passengers
or cargo shared by the country of departure and the country of arrival
. Option 7-Allocation according to the country of origin of passengers or owner of cargo
. Option 8-Allocation to a party of all emissions generated in its national space.
SBSTA subsequently noted that there were three separate issues: adequate and consistent inventories, allocation of emissions, and control options. Appropriate
allocation of responsibility for emissions from international bunker fuels would be connected to inventory and control issues. Reviewing the foregoing eight options,
SBSTA decided that Options 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 should be the basis for further work on this issue (UNFCCC, 1997).
To date, however, there has been no agreement among parties to the Convention on which option to choose. At Kyoto in December 1997, the Conference of Parties to
the UNFCCC urged SBSTA to elaborate further on the inclusion of emissions from fuel sold to aircraft and ships engaged in international transport in overall
greenhouse gas inventories (UNFCCC, 1998a).
The Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC, which has not yet entered into force, requires Annex I (industrialized) countries to reduce their collective emissions of greenhouse
gases by approximately 5% by 2008-2012 compared with 1990 levels, with the reduction varying from country to country. The agreed-on targets apply to national totals
of greenhouse gases. Consequently, each Annex I country can determine how the various emission-producing sectors in its economy should be called upon to assist
in achieving the country's national target.
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