Zero emissions target for air travel eyed at UN summit

The International Civil Aviation Organization’s assembly is discussing a zero-net emissions target for air travel [File: Christinne Muschi/Reuters]

Countries have been urged to go beyond “mere aspirations” and set a target of zero-net emissions for air travel, as the UN’s aviation body meets for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the opening of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) assembly on Tuesday, Salvatore Sciacchitano, president of the ICAO Council, said “mere aspirations are no longer sufficient where our climate, and the well-being of our planet and all its species are concerned.”