Opportunity Green X Cornerstone Barristers Climate Webinar: Addressing the NDC gap: International aviation and shipping emissions

This event will be chaired by Estelle Dehon KC, who will guide discussions between our panel of legal and policy experts to address the legal obligations of states in respect of international aviation and shipping emissions under international law, the options for including such emissions in Nationally Determined Contributions (“NDCs”), and significance of international advisory opinions in advancing accountability for the international shipping and aviation sectors.

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Background

COP29 will renew the huge and urgent push to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The current set of NDCs are, however, inadequate and the next round of NDCs – NDCs 3.0 – are only due in 2025. Currently, emissions from international aviation and shipping are omitted from most NDCs, despite both sectors contributing significantly to the climate crisis. The panel will discuss how national climate ambition and action on international aviation and shipping emissions can be scaled up through law and governance. It is often contended that these emissions should be dealt with under their respective UN agencies, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization. However, measures in both sectors remain significantly off track for the Paris temperature goal. This event will address the legal obligations of states to address these emissions under international law, with a specific focus on the inclusion of such emissions in states’ NDCs and how this could strengthen climate ambition and action in these sectors. This discussion provides an opportunity to consider this significant gap in NDCs against the backdrop of international courts’ advisory opinions on states’ climate change responsibilities.

Panellists

Payam Akhavan ⏐ Legal representative of Commission of Small Island States (COSIS) ⏐

Payam Akhavan is a renowned international human rights lawyer and professor of international law. Payam is a senior fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. Payam acted as legal representative for the COSIS in its Request for an Advisory Opinion to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Chris Lyle ⏐ Lead Expert, Aviation ⏐ Tourism Panel on Climate Change (TPCC) ⏐

As the former Deputy Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Chris Lyle brings almost 5 decades of policy expertise to the table. He currently sits as Lead Expert in aviation at the TPCC, an independent science-based international collaboration launched at COP27 to inform and rapidly advance science-based climate action across the global tourism system in support of the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Damien Meadows ⏐ Advisor on European and International Carbon Markets ⏐ European Commission, Directorate-General for Climate Action ⏐

As Head of the European Commission’s unit responsible for the International Carbon Market, aviation and maritime and, previously, as the Deputy Head of the European Commission’s unit, Damien Meadows played an integral role in the drafting, negotiation and implementation of the EU ETS, the EU’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol and other climate-related legislation.

Aoife O’Leary ⏐ CEO, Founder ⏐ Opportunity Green ⏐

As a lawyer and economist with deep environmental expertise, Aoife O’Leary founded Opportunity Green in 2021 to realise her vision of working closely with governments, other NGOs and industry around the world to seize on the opportunities that come with solving the climate crisis. The NGO has submitted a written statement on states’ obligations in respect of international aviation and shipping emissions to the climate advisory proceedings before the ICJ and supports climate vulnerable countries at the International Maritime Organization.