1 December 2009: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will celebrate International Civil Aviation Day on 7 December 2009 around the theme “65 years of empowering the global community through aviation,” highlighting its role in the dialogue on global climate change. In particular, ICAO will underscore the fact that under its aegis the first, and to date only, globally-harmonized agreement designed to address climate change from a specific sector of the world economy was achieved in the air transport industry.
In October 2009, ICAO member States representing 93% of global commercial air traffic agreed to, inter alia, annually improve fuel efficiency by 2% until 2050, create a framework for market-based tools to address climate change through aviation, and assist developing countries in accessing finance, technology and improving capacities. [ICAO Press Release]