US criticizes climate, social focus of UN aviation group

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday criticized a United Nations aviation group for not focusing enough on safety and security and called for reform.

"Over the years, this body has extended itself far beyond its proper mandate - wasting critical resources on social programs or climate financing initiatives that have nothing to do with the safety, security and efficiency of the global air transportation system," Duffy said at the triennial assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal.

"Our ability to achieve this reform will factor into how President Trump and the United States evaluate support for ICAO moving forward."

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, European commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, told the assembly that environmental targets, like achieving net zero emissions by 2050, are in line with its goals on safety and security.

“None of these elements can be viewed in isolation,” he said.

Duffy stated that for the sake of global safety, countries that threaten aviation security should be excluded from ICAO leadership, while all stakeholders, including Taiwan, must be included in its technical work regardless of politics.

"There is no room for politics on this question – this is about safety and security of the global system we all enjoy, and of which Taiwan plays an active part," Duffy said.

Liang Nan, deputy administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, hit back against Duffy's comments on Taiwan.

"There is only one China in the world," she told the gathering.

Last month, U.S. lawmakers urged ICAO to oppose China's decision to unilaterally extend a flight route in the Taiwan Strait.

Private jet and first-class airline passengers have emerged as a target of environmentalists and certain countries like France, Kenya and Barbados, which have proposed charging fees on premium travel.

These fees proposed by the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force "undermine the integrity and efficiency of the global air transportation system," the United States said in a working paper to the assembly.

Duffy said Tuesday that new taxes and user charges are at "odds with ICAO principles... Why should international air transportation be singled out? Why should users of the global air transportation system be forced to provide a new source of revenue to any one country?"