'Historic agreement:' Canada signs on to world's 1st airline climate plan

A day after ratifying the Paris climate change accord, Canada hassigned on to thefirst globalagreement to tackle pollution in the airline industry.

Transport Minister Marc Garneaucalled it a"historic agreement,"but some critics say it won't do enough to help fight global warming.

• Canada helps broker aviation climate deal
• ICAO eyes carbon offset scheme

Garneau said Canada played a leading role in the backrooms at the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to bring as many countries as possible on board, and 85 per cent of the world's emitters will participate in a voluntary carbon-offset systembeginning in 2021.

Even though civil aviation andinternational flights will continue toincrease, theywill be carbon neutral beyond2020 under the agreement with a market-based measure that requires airlines to buy carbon credits.

It's the firstglobal carbon offsetsystem fora singleindustry.

Airlines onside

Garneausaid Canadian airlines are onside with the plan, which could lead to an increase inairfares of one to 1.5 per cent.

"Canadian aviation companies, airlines,are prepared to sign up to this, the global market-based measures. I believe that air travellers are also," he said.

Garneau outlines new carbon neutral agreement for airlines

8 years ago

Duration 2:26

Transport Minister Marc Garneau discusses a new global agreement for airlines to become carbon neutral by 2021.

The system will be voluntary from 2021 to 2026 and become mandatory for most countries beginning in2027.

Aviation was excluded from the Paris climate agreement, whichpassed the threshold for ratification on Wednesday.Theaccord will go into force Nov. 4, with Canada among the 191 signatories.

Michael Gill, the executive director of the Air Transport Action Group, called it a "historic moment" for aviation and climate negotiations.

"What was a visionary approach seven years ago has today become a reality," he said in a statement.

'Worrying signal'

But somedisappointed environmental groups say the agreement doesn't go far enough.

"In the same week that the Paris agreement crosses its crucial threshold to enter into force, countries sent a worrying signal by deleting key provisions for the aviation agreement that would align its ambitions with the Paris agreement's aim of limiting global temperature rise to well below twodegrees with best efforts to not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius," reads a statement from theInternational Coalition for Sustainable Aviation.