Differential treatment in the UNFCCC

This policy brief examines the conflict between the UNFCCC's principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC) and the international aviation law's principle of equal treatment. It argues that 'contextual treatment'—which considers changing national circumstances and provides implementation assistance—offers a viable path to reconcile these opposing frameworks to regulate international aviation emissions.

• International aviation emissions grew significantly between 1990 and 2012, with CO2 emissions from aviation fuels increasing by more than 86% to 478 million tonnes, representing approximately 1.5% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) projected these emissions would rise to between 682 and 755 Mt CO2 by 2020.
• A primary obstacle to regulating aviation emissions is the conflict between the UNFCCC's principle of differential treatment (CBDRRC) and the Chicago Convention's principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunities for airlines.
• The document distinguishes between 'differential treatment norms,' which simply grant favorable treatment to developing countries, and 'contextual treatment norms,' which apply identical treatment to all but allow for differentiation based on varying or changing national circumstances.
• ICAO has begun to acknowledge the CBDRRC principle, agreeing that market-based mechanisms should account for the 'special circumstances and respective capabilities of developing countries.' Proposed differentiation methods include offsetting mechanisms targeting reductions in developing countries and exempting routes to/from developing states with less than 1% of total revenue tonne kilometres.
• The European Union (EU) has shifted its approach toward differentiation. While its 2008 emissions trading scheme initially focused on equal treatment, a 2014 proposal attempted to use contextual norms by exempting flights to and from developing countries that were not classified by the World Bank in 2013 as high-income or upper-middle income countries.
• Both ICAO and the EU have implemented assistance-based differentiation. ICAO partnered with the UNDP and GEF in 2013 to stimulate low-emission measures in developing countries, and the EU and ICAO launched a capacity-building project specifically targeting countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

APA

Romera, B. M., & van Asselt, H. (2015). Differential treatment in the UNFCCC. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2015-International-aviation-emissions-differentiation-LR.pdf

Chicago

Romera, Beatriz Martínez, and Harro van Asselt. Differential treatment in the UNFCCC. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2015. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2015-International-aviation-emissions-differentiation-LR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Romera |first1=Beatriz Martínez |last2=van Asselt |first2=Harro |title=Differential treatment in the UNFCCC |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2015-International-aviation-emissions-differentiation-LR.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{romera2015differential, author = {Romera, Beatriz Martínez and van Asselt, Harro}, title = {{Differential treatment in the UNFCCC}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-PB-2015-International-aviation-emissions-differentiation-LR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }