Nigeria has notified the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) of its intention to join the aircraft carbon emission programme from 2021.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director-General,Capt Muhtar Usman said Nigeria was leading in the development of action on carbon emission mitigation in measures for countries accredited for ICAO Western and Central African ( WACAF) office and Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS).
The programme is organised by ICAO, under the template known as Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme International Aviation (CORSIA).
He said the implementation of CORSIA will enable Nigeria to be on the same page with global players in the move to reduce aviation’s contribution to climate change.
Besides State Action Plans by member states, Usman listed other efforts to include development of basket of measures to address carbon emissions from international aviation through aircraft technology; operational improvements; sustainable alternative fuel for aviation and a global scheme already in place.
He said workshop/seminar had been designed to provide national action plan focal points for aviation industry stakeholders with practical input on the calculation of the carbon emissions baseline.
Usman said ICAO member states are expected to share information on CORSIA’s design elements and implementation aspects.
This, he said, include, work being undertaken on the development of standards and recommended practices (SARPs) and guidance material for CORSIA implementation
He said the discussions among ICAO members would provide opportunity for the participating state to share their experiences in the development of action plans and existing readiness to implement CORSIA as well as conduct an assessment of assistance needs.
He assured that Nigeria is committed to actively provide dynamic, purposeful and imaginative leadership in addressing the challenges posed by emissions from aviation and climate change in the West African sub region.
He said : “As we all may be aware, aviation plays an essential role in the economic growth and market access for the world economy. The rapid growth of air travel in recent years however contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation. Thus, decided to provide leadership to undertake efforts to reduce aviation’s contribution to climate change.”
Also, Air Transport, African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) Director Tefera Mekonen Tefera said the task of the commission is to ensure that member states develop and submit to ICAO their States’Action Plans on CO2 emissions reduction measures before June 2018.
Tefera said the secretariat was mandated to implement the task in liaison with ICAO and other stakeholders.
He said 11 states were yet to complete their Action Plans from the ICAO-WACAF region.
“AFCAC took a decision to collaborate with ICAO and ECOWAS to build capacity and assist these member states having challenges in developing their State Action Plans as well as to facilitate the engagement of the ‘ICAO Buddy Programme’ among States.