In Chicago, Ban says aviation body’s work vital to UN efforts on health, security, climate change | WPN World People News

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) helps the United Nations address some of the most pressing issues on the global agenda, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during a ceremony in Chicago celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Chicago Convention.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) flanked by the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Raymond Benjamin (right) and the Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel speaks at the opening of the extraordinary session of the ICAO Council.

“In 2014, we are facing new threats that never could have been imagined when ICAO was founded,” Mr. Ban said. “Then, as now, we know that we can only overcome these threats through a collective, international response.”

The Secretary-General’s address to an Extraordinary Session of ICAO’s Permanent Council was part of a day of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the Convention on International Aviation, better known as the Chicago Convention after the city where United States city where it was signed in 1944.

The Convention, which established ICAO, a specialized UN agency tasked with coordinating and regulating international air travel, sets rules of airspace, aircraft registration and safety, and undertakes compliance audits, performs studies and analyses.

In his remarks, Mr. Ban spotlighted cooperation between the UN and ICAO on major global challenges, specifically in the health, security and environmental fields.

“When Ebola broke out, ICAO answered fear with facts,” he said, describing the body’s work to coordinate the international response to Ebola’s impact on travel, trade and tourism.

“ICAO stood firmly with the World Health Organization against general bans on travel and trade that block efforts to rush in medical responders and supplies. And ICAO advocated measures to make sure that suspected cases are managed safely in ways that stop Ebola from spreading.”

The aviation body also headed a thorough and independent investigation into the downing of a civilian airliner carrying 298 people in eastern Ukraine.

“Experts from ICAO helped to produce the preliminary findings – and they are continuing to support investigation for the final report,” the Secretary-General said. “Meanwhile, ICAO mobilized partners to set up a task force to reduce the risks of civilian planes flying over conflict areas.”

In addition, ICAO worked with the Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee on a Traveller Identification Programme, adopting a Convention on marking plastic explosives to aid detection.

With the world “on the eve of a critical year” for combating climate change, he thanked the ICAO for its efforts to persuade Governments and the aviation industry to commit to a two percent annual fuel efficiency improvement and carbon-neutral growth from 2020.

He praised concrete plans to achieve the target, including development of sustainable alternative fuels, deploying new technologies for aircraft, and improving efficiency, and applauded other climate initiatives, as well.

“I hope to see even more action. The aviation industry should innovate new forms of clean energy. Airlines should take steps to offset emissions. I urge ICAO to stand at the forefront of pushing for dynamic progress,” he said.

Looking back to the founding of the ICAO in 1944, he urged continued effort to build on the work of predecessors who launched “a global flight path for peaceful aviation.”

“I call on you to expand their vision as we navigate a new journey to a safe and sustainable future,” he said.

The Secretary-General arrived in Chicago, and began this his official programme earlier this morning when he met with a host of US officials, including the Federal Aviation Association as well as the Secretary of Transportation, and also met with Denis Coderre, the Mayor of Montreal, which is ICAO’s host city.

Before leaving Chicago, Mr. Ban attended an event with Mayor Rahm Emanuel at the Rookery Building to showcase the efforts to promote energy efficiency in Chicago’s buildings. Speaking to the press, the Secretary-General ICAO remarked that cities account for about half of global emissions – and three quarters of global energy consumption. Buildings alone account for 40 per cent of global energy use.

“More efficient city buildings can make a major difference in reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions around the world,” he said.

Shortly, Mr. Ban will be taking off for Lima, Peru, where he will attend the UN Climate Change Conference, which began last Monday and will wrap up on Friday, 12 December.

Negotiations are under way in Lima on how countries will contribute to a planned 2015 agreement in the form of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, in advance of the December 2015 conference scheduled in Paris, France, where the new universal UN-backed treaty on climate change will be adopted.

Source: United Nations