• As talks for aviation climate deal begin, India holds out

    Fast-growing aviation powerhouse India is not ready to join the world’s first climate deal to curb pollution from commercial flights because it fears that talks beginning on Tuesday may not lead to a fair agreement, its civil aviation minister said.

    The proposed landmark deal, backed by the United States and China, aims to limit rising airline pollution to 2020 levels after it takes effect in 2021, but has been watered down by being made voluntary for the first five years.

    “(We’ll decide) once the nuts and bolts become clearer,” Ashok Gajapathi Raju told Reuters on the sidelines of an aviation forum. “Until then, our fears are that it is not equitable.”

    Countries with a high-growth aviation sector want more latitude to produce emissions than developed countries, which are growing more slowly but were responsible for generating the bulk of the industry’s greenhouse gases.

    If a country is not part of the deal, it will have a ripple effect as all foreign carriers on routes to and from that country – even ones from participating states – would be exempt from having to offset their emissions.

    The United Nations-led talks run from Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal. Jonathan Bullard Authentic Jersey

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