International Aviation Emissions Under International Civil Aviation Organization’s Global Market Based Measure: Ready for Offsetting?

Abstract

In a landmark decision on 7 October 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) General Assembly adopted a resolution for the establishment of a Global Market Based Measure (Global MBM) to offset CO2 emissions from international aviation. After the Paris Agreement, this is not only the first ever global solution to curb emissions of a whole industry sector, but it is also a fundamental step as ICAO has been wrestling to come up with an international solution to address the issue of climate change of aviation over the last years. The Global MBM delivers the basis for the future climate regime in international aviation. This article outlines the key features of the new Global MBM and provides a first evaluation of the adopted approach and its implications with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).