聯合國負責規範航空產業的國際民航組織( ICAO)，於9月28日在蒙特羅的年度委員會結束時，並沒有要求航空公司參與現行歐洲的溫室氣體排放交易制度，以縮減其排放量。相反的，該組織成立了一個高階政府官員的團體，以建議聯合國在氣候變遷上所應採取的行動。
航空業者所排放的溫室氣體從1990年以來，已經成長了2倍，而且預估未來每年將以3.5%的速度繼續成長。根據聯合國跨政府氣候變遷專家小組(IPCC)最新的報告預測，航空業者須為2%-8%的全球暖化現象負責。
ICAO呼籲更積極的行動計劃，可考慮的方向包括自發性措施、更精良的飛機與地面設備、更有效率的操作方法、空中交通管理的改善、正向的經濟誘因和市場導向的策略，以達成溫室氣體減量的目的。
美國空中運輸協會所屬的航空公司負責美國90%的人員與貨物運輸，該協會對於ICAO從國際航空著手，採取全面性的溫室氣體減量計劃一事甚為讚許。
ATA執行長梅伊（James May）表示：「ICAO的完整計劃，將可促進許多關鍵性的進展，包括空中交通管理、操作經營、替代性燃料、研究開發和其他方法，以減少燃料使用量和溫室氣體排放量，因此可以為全球帶來更多的改善。」
但是，歐洲的42個國家在一個聲明中表示反對的意見，他們說：「最重要的是，委員會協議中所提出的計劃是沒有野心的、零碎的、缺乏可靠的市場評估基礎 (包括溫室氣體排放稅和排放交易)。」
環保人士則認為ICAO的立場完全消極，並且失敗。德國地球之友的航空專家瑞爾（Werner Reh）博士說：「在歷經10年的裝腔作勢後，委員會的這項失敗等於是為ICAO在環境保護工作上能否擔任要角，敲下喪鐘。」
The United Nations body responsible for regulating the aviation industry, wound up its annual assembly in Montreal on Friday without requiring that airlines limit their greenhouse gas emissions by participating in the existing European emissions trading system. Instead, the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, created a group of senior government officials to recommend what action the body should take on climate change.
Aviation greenhouse gas emissions have doubled since 1990 and are projected to further grow by 3.5 percent annually. The latest report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that aviation is responsible for from two to eight percent of global warming.
Calling for an "aggressive" plan of action from the new group, ICAO said the options to be considered include voluntary measures, technological advances in both aircraft and ground-based equipment, more efficient operational measures, improvements in air traffic management, positive economic incentives, and market-based measures to achieve reductions in emission of greenhouse gases.
The Air Transport Association of America, representing U.S. airlines that transport 90 percent of U.S. passengers and cargo, applauded what they called ICAO's "adoption of a comprehensive plan for further addressing greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation."
"ICAO's comprehensive plan will facilitate critical advances in air traffic management, operations, alternative fuels, research and development and other measures designed to reduce fuel burn and greenhouse gas emissions, thereby bringing further improvements on a global basis," said ATA chief executive James May.
But the 42 countries in the European group disagreed. "In particular, the programme put forward for agreement at this Assembly is unambitious, piecemeal and lacking in credibility on market-based measures (both greenhouse gas emissions charges and emissions trading)," they said in a statement.
Environmentalists said the ICAO position is the opposite of aggressive - they called it a failure. "After 10 years of posturing, this assembly's clear failure sounds the death knell for any ICAO role in environmental protection," said Dr. Werner Reh, aviation expert for Friends of the Earth Germany.
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