Public Infrastructure Ministry working on action plan – to address aviation sector carbon emissions

Georgetown, GINA, May 17, 2016

 In September, Guyana will be represented at another high-level meeting on Global Market-Based Measure (MBM) Scheme, even as the country prepares an action plan that deals with what small states intend to do to reduce Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions in the aviation sector.

The MBM scheme, according to the ICAO website is “a basket of measures designed to help achieve ICAO’s global aspirational goals. The basket of options is available to states to address international aviation CO2 emissions and encompasses technological, operational and market-based measures.”

Government of Guyana officials recently participated at the first International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) High-level Meeting on a Global Market-Based Measure (MBM) Scheme in Montreal, Canada. The meeting was part of ICAO’s global initiative to reduce carbon emissions, and to move to a carbon neutral growth from 2020. This is according to Air Transport Management Director acting, of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Saheed Sulaman who attended the meeting.

According to Sulaman, Guyana’s participation at that meeting was important because “climate change affects most developing countries because they are more vulnerable and we don’t have the resources or the mechanisms to implement facilities quickly enough to cushion ourselves from the impact of climate change. Therefore, it is important from that standpoint that developing countries such as Guyana attend these meetings to voice our concern.”

Sulaman explained that emphasis must be placed on the aviation sector which largely contributes to climate change. Currently local aviation is responsible for 2% of global CO2 emissions, and international aviation, 1.2%.

“We only have two operators with small aircraft, namely Trans Guyana Airways and Roraima Airways that do international flights. Those planes are so small that they could be exempted from the MBM scheme, so it is important for us to voice our concerns how this scheme will affect small states, and what mechanism small states need to implement,” Sulaman said.

The objective of the meeting was to get consensus from all 191 ICAO member states for a draft framework to be established to address the CO2 emissions through market- based measures.

The ICAO is working to achieve technical, operational, and infrastructure enhancements, sustainable alternative fuels, a CO2 standard for aircraft, and the development of a global market-based measure which will aid in addressing climate change.

Climate change is the biggest problem of the human beings and one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing all countries.