BASIC countries express concern over ICAO proposal on aviation

BASIC countries, including India, today expressed concern over the draft proposal of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on emission reduction in aviation sector, saying it will impose additional "burden" on developing countries.
The Ministers, attending a two-day BASIC ministerial meeting on climate change which concluded here, also asked industrialised nations to develop climate change measures in a manner that is consistent with the principles of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR).
"The BASIC countries expressed concern that the draft proposal on Global Market Based Measures (GMBM) under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) may impose inappropriate economic burden on developing countries where the international aviation market is still maturing.

"They urged the ICAO to develop climate change measures in a manner that is consistent with the principles of CBDR and RC, and to align the GMBM with the relevant provisions of the Paris Agreement," according to a joint statement by BASIC countries China, India, South Africa and Brazil, read out by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
According to aviation experts, the mechanism, when comes into force, will lead to an imposition of tax on flights which airlines might recover from passengers in the form of additional charges.
"We are concerned about the draft on the table. The proposal does not reflect the principle of CBDR. The second concern reflect to Measuring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), proposed in the draft. It is not aligned to what we agreed to in Paris. We need to align this process with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

ICAO had submitted a draft policy proposal on Global

Market Based Measures (GMBM) which lays out the overall architecture for the scheme and its implementation.
ICAO is scheduled to discuss the draft proposal at its 39th Assembly session to be held in September-October this year.
GMBM scheme proposes to limit CO2 emissions in aviation sector.
The shaping of GMBM scheme and the manner of its implementation by the agreed date of 2020 is a key issue still to be settled and will inevitably have considerable implications for civil aviation sector.
The proposed scheme is to be implemented in the form of an offsetting scheme which requires participants to offset their CO2 emissions above an agreed level by acquiring emission permits from other participants or sources.