Aviation climate deal seen as a win for airlines, less so for the planet

New York

THE United Nations deal to clean up pollution from international aviation may cost airlines as much as US$23.9 billion annually by 2035. The companies see it as a victory.

The landmark deal brokered in Montreal last week creates a global system requiring airlines to compensate for emissions growth after 2020 by funding environmental initiatives. That spares carriers from exactly what they had pushed to avoid: a patchwork of regional environmental regulations that probably would have been even more costly.