Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their policies and main targets for reducing carbon emissions associated with shipping and aviation to and from the UK; and how they are collaborating with the International Maritime Organisation and International Civil Aviation Organisation to achieve those goals.

Given the international nature of the aviation and shipping sectors, the Government’s emphasis is on taking strong action at the global level as the best means of addressing carbon emissions from these sectors.

In April, Member States of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) reached agreement on a Strategy, which includes a commitment to phase out Greenhouse Gases from international shipping as soon as possible within this century, and by at least 50% by 2050.

Led by the Department for Transport, the United Kingdom played a leading role in the negotiations, pushing for an ambitious and credible outcome that would enable shipping to play its part in meeting the Paris Agreement temperature goals.

The Strategy is a major milestone for the shipping industry, which is now the first global sector to have set an absolute emissions reduction target. It sends a clear signal to the maritime sector that the move to zero emissions technology is imminent. The Government is now working in the IMO to determine what practical and technical approaches need to be taken globally in order to reach the emissions reduction targets.

In aviation, the UK was equally instrumental in reaching a ground-breaking agreement at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly in 2016 on a global carbon offsetting scheme, known as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). This is the first worldwide scheme to address carbon emissions in any single sector and is set to commence from 2021.

CORSIA contributes to ICAO’s ambition to decouple growth in flights from growth in emissions by achieving carbon neutral growth in the international aviation sector from 2020.

To achieve this goal, ICAO has identified a basket of measures, which also includes aircraft technologies, operational improvements and the use of sustainable alternative fuels. The UK continues to play a leading role in ICAO’s environmental work, including all areas of the ‘basket of measures’.

The Government is currently developing its aviation and maritime strategies, which will ensure continued progress and that set out a framework for how these modes will contribute fairly to action on climate change, including the UK’s domestic and international obligations.