Briefing

Mitigating emissions from international aviation: the question of historical responsibility

June 10, 2013

One of the main arguments put forward by countries such as China, India and Brazil is that according to agreed principles under the UNFCCC 'developed' countries have the greater historical responsibility for their accumulative historical CO2 emissions.

Historical responsibility in aviation

The list of top 20 historical aviation emitters, however, includes China, Singapore, the UAE and Brazil, suggesting that these countries also have a historical obligation to address aviation emissions. See below an array of data that set out the actual situation regarding historical responsibility for international aviation emissions.

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