The International Regulation of Aviation Emissions: Putting Differential Treatment into Practice

TY - JOUR

T1 - The International Regulation of Aviation Emissions: Putting Differential Treatment into Practice

AU - Martinez Romera, Beatriz

AU - van Asselt, Harro

PY - 2015/7/1

Y1 - 2015/7/1

N2 - Given their rapidly increasing contribution to the climate change problem, calls for regulation of emissions from the international aviation sector have become stronger in recent years. The Kyoto Protocol has delegated the adoption of mitigation measures to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with only modest results to date. A core challenge in crafting international regulation for international aviation emissions is the differential treatment of developed and developing countries in a sector that is otherwise characterised by equality of treatment. This article shows how the ICAO has struggled to find a balance between the two approaches, and traces the evolution of the European Union's approach to differentiation, which included international aviation in its emissions trading system as of 2012. We argue that reconciling differential and equal treatment is likely to include the use of contextual norms applying differential treatment at the implementation stage, specifically through financial, technological, and capacity-building assistance arrangements.

AB - Given their rapidly increasing contribution to the climate change problem, calls for regulation of emissions from the international aviation sector have become stronger in recent years. The Kyoto Protocol has delegated the adoption of mitigation measures to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with only modest results to date. A core challenge in crafting international regulation for international aviation emissions is the differential treatment of developed and developing countries in a sector that is otherwise characterised by equality of treatment. This article shows how the ICAO has struggled to find a balance between the two approaches, and traces the evolution of the European Union's approach to differentiation, which included international aviation in its emissions trading system as of 2012. We argue that reconciling differential and equal treatment is likely to include the use of contextual norms applying differential treatment at the implementation stage, specifically through financial, technological, and capacity-building assistance arrangements.

U2 - 10.1093/jel/eqv006

DO - 10.1093/jel/eqv006

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0952-8873

VL - 27

SP - 259

EP - 283

JO - Journal of Environmental Law

JF - Journal of Environmental Law

IS - 2

ER -