Arab aviation leaders close ranks 

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) The Arab Aviation Industry leaders yesterday set a six-point agenda to protect its interests at the upcoming Copenhagen Climate Summit.

After two-day deliberations, aviation industry leaders in the region decided to urge the Arab delegations to participate in the Copenhagen Conference to ensure that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is the only authority to deal with environmental issues in the field of international civil aviation.

The Doha meet also urged the Arab delegations going to the Copenhagen meet to adopt the declaration ratified at the high-level meeting.

The meet decided to support all environmental efforts of the Arab League. It would also support ICAO's invitation to its members to abide by the rule for taxing and levies imposition provided for in Articles 15 and 24 of the Chicago Convention.

Pertaining to the fifth point of the agenda, the meet decided to coordinate between Arab Civil Aviation authorities, Arab airlines and Arab delegations attending the Copenhagen summit. Finally, it was decided to form a permanent high-level team between the Arab Civil aviation Commission and the Arab Air Carriers Organisation to follow up on the Copenhagen Conference and beyond, and to take the necessary measures to preserve the interest of civil aviation in the Arab World.

Major stakeholders in the region's aviation industry attended the two-day deliberations that concluded here yesterday. The participants included nominees and experts from Arab Civil Aviation Commission, Arab Air Carrier Organisation, Director Generals of Civil Aviation authorities in the Arab World, top executives of Arab airlines, Arab League and a number of representatives from the global civil aviation industry.

The conference witnessed a number of sessions with many presentations from parties present that dealt mainly with the regional and international actions to deal with the issue of emissions, including regional programs aimed at reducing or trading in these emissions. There have been calls for the adoption of alternative global programmes as a prelude to the talks that would be held at the Conference of Parties in Copenhagen, under the umbrella of the Convention of the United Nations framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Some experts also stressed for the need for the adoption of alternate fuels and technologies, as well as the development of aviation industry to reduce the environmental impact of carbon dioxide emissions.

Announcing the Doha Declaration, Mohammed Al Alji, Director General, Arab Civil Aviation Commission (ACAC) highlighted the large investments made by Arab governments to modernize the infrastructure of airports.

The Arab airlines have also invested huge amounts to renew their fleets, which are the most modern in the world. These steps have mad the Arab civil aviation sector the most compliant with the international environmental requirements and the one with the least negative impact on the environment in terms of Greenhouse Gases (GHG).