MONTREAL • As world leaders gathered for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, transport chiefs were also meeting at the assembly of the UN agency headquartered in Canada that regulates civil aviation.
However, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had to suspend its ongoing triennial assembly for a day yesterday as 400,000 protesters were expected to descend in front of the ICAO headquarters to demand climate action.
Leading them is 16-year-old Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg, who launched a global movement that has seen hundreds of thousands of youth demonstrate around the world last week.
Singapore's Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan, who is leading Singapore's delegation to the ICAO Assembly, said in a Facebook post that "while street protests are not uncommon in Canada, for ICAO to suspend its assembly for a day is new".
"It also reflects a rising mood against aviation, especially in Europe. Indeed, the aviation industry needs to clean up further using better fuels that pollute less. In land transport, electric vehicles are good solutions. We need such equivalents in aviation," he added.
Aviation leaders are gathering in Montreal to debate plane emission targets. The environment is one of the top issues for voters at next month's Canadian election, and at a campaign stop on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he looked forward to marching in Montreal "to fight for the environment".
Last month, Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic to the United States from Britain in a zero-carbon-emissions boat to protest against air travel emissions, and she denounced world leaders at the UN earlier this week for failing to tackle climate change.
The Montreal protest comes as the ICAO Assembly is debating ways to minimise the sector's impact on the environment. ICAO expressed "enthusiasm and support" for the march on Thursday, adding that "more action and faster innovation are now required to address aviation's near-and long-term impacts".
Commercial flying accounts for 2.5 per cent of carbon emissions. But with passenger numbers forecast to double by 2037, experts say emissions will rise if more is not done. In Europe, environmentalists and the industry want ICAO to commit now to setting longer-term goals at its 2022 assembly.
REUTERS
