Background

Emissions from fuel used for international aviation and maritime transport have been addressed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process since the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP). At its first meeting in 1995 (Berlin, Germany, March/April 1995), the COP requested the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) to address the issue of allocation and control of emissions from international bunker fuels and to report on this work to COP 2 (Decision 4/CP.1).

In response to this request, emissions from fuel used for international aviation and maritime transport have been continuously addressed under the SBSTA (chronological development>>).
In addition the Kyoto Protocol addresses emissions from fuel used for international aviation and maritime transport in its Article 2, paragraph 2. Article 2.2 of the Kyoto Protocol states that the Parties included in Annex I shall pursue limitation or reduction of emissions of greenhouse gas emissions not controlled by the Montreal Protocol from aviation and marine bunker fuels, working through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), respectively.

In accordance with the IPCC Guidelines for the preparation of greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and the UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories, emissions from international aviation and maritime transport (also known as international bunker fuel emissions) should be calculated as part of the national GHG inventories of Parties, but should be excluded from national totals and reported separately. These emissions are not subject to the limitation and reduction commitments of Annex I Parties under the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol.

Previously, in the context of paragraph 1b(iv) of the Bali Action Plan, emissions from international bunker fuels has been a subject of discussions under the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) chronological development>>.

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