Update on ICAO Emissions Proposals

A story from Reuters today provides more details on the four regulatory approaches being considered by ICAO to solve the global impasse over emissions regulation. See Allison Martell, ICAO Sees Difficult Path to Airline Emissions Plan, Reuters, March 16, 2012 (available here). From the article:

The four options being considered are mandatory offsetting of emissions from airlines, mandatory offsetting with some revenue-generating mechanism, and two cap and trade systems. Under one, all aviation emissions could be traded. Under the other, only increases or decreases from an initial emissions baseline could be traded.

The ICAO governing council met on Wednesday, and will reportedly meet again in June to eliminate one or more options. Reconciling the "common but differentiated responsibility" principle that has been a standard feature of international agreements on climate change with non-discrimination provisions within the Chicago Convention, such as Article 11, remains a major sticking point in reaching an agreement.