Who owns the sky?
Who Owns the Sky?
No one. Everyone.
International aviation is one of the biggest loopholes in global climate policy. It burns through our shared carbon budget, yet its emissions don’t fully exist in any country’s climate plan. The Paris Agreement asks every nation to cut emissions, but when it comes to international flights, no one is holding the pen. The responsibility is passed around, like a game of hot potato where no one wants to get burned.
The aviation industry operates in the space between nations, but the climate crisis doesn’t care about borders. While power plants, cars, and factories are accounted for in national climate pledges, known as NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions), international flights slip through the cracks. Governments have outsourced the problem to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an entity built to promote aviation, not regulate its emissions. ICAO’s solution? A carbon offsetting scheme called CORSIA, designed to cap emissions at 2019 levels, but only for what exceeds 85% of that baseline. The rest? Unchecked.
The result: billions of tons of CO2 floating in regulatory limbo.
But if no one owns the problem, who will solve it?
The First Step: Counting What Counts
The European Union has taken the first move. It includes international aviation emissions in its climate goals, at least partially, counting emissions from the first outbound flight departing from its territory. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. And it’s something every country could do.
Right now, almost no nations take responsibility for the emissions their citizens produce when they fly beyond their borders. But imagine if they did. Imagine if every country that benefits from aviation, through tourism, trade, or business, owned up to the emissions it generates.
It’s not about grounding flights. It’s about honesty. About treating aviation like any other sector, instead of giving it a free pass. About ensuring that when we measure our progress toward net zero, we’re not conveniently ignoring the emissions that are hardest to account for.
The Path Forward?
There are three things the global community must do to fix this blind spot:
Bring aviation fully into national climate plans (NDCs). If the EU can do it, so can others. Every country should count at least the first outbound flight from its airports.
Stop relying on ICAO to do the job. ICAO was built to promote aviation, not to regulate its emissions. The UNFCCC, the body responsible for global climate agreements, must take a direct role in ensuring aviation is part of the solution.
Move beyond offsets and commit to real reductions. The aviation industry can’t offset its way out of the problem. Sustainable fuels, efficiency improvements, and better air traffic management can help, but only if they’re backed by real accountability.
The Paris Agreement is built on the principle that every country must take responsibility for its share of the climate crisis. Right now, aviation emissions are a glaring exception. It’s time to change that.
The question isn’t who owns the sky. The question is who takes responsibility for it.
