15 July 2011: The latest issue of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Journal contains a number of articles on aviation and climate change, including on: national mitigation action plans; mitigation financing; carbon regimes; the New Zealand model of emissions trading; and alternative fuels.

In the opening article, Jane Hupe, Chief of the ICAO Environment Branch, discusses the development of States’ action plans for climate change mitigation, as well as other important measures ICAO and global stakeholders are pursuing to improve the sustainability of aviation. The Journal also features an article by Tetsuya Tanaka, ICAO Environment Office, on progress made and challenges to be overcome regarding legal issues associated with new emissions mitigation-related financing and levy instruments associated with global aviation. Another piece discusses the rationale behind the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA’s) work with ICAO to develop an effective consensus around a global approach to mitigation airline emissions.

The Journal also includes an article by the New Zealand Ministry of Transport on how New Zealand’s emissions trading mechanism provides incentives to airlines to improve efficiency operations to reduce fuel consumption. It also contains two articles on alternative aviation fuels, one regarding the European context, and the other focusing on Brazil and the US. [Publication: ICAO Journal Vol. 66 No. 3]