As the international aviation industry gathered in Montreal to agree on a global market-based measure (GMBM) to offset its carbon pollution, sustainable aviation advocates used a Twitter Thunderclap to make the issue a trending topic on the popular social network.
On Tuesday, an estimated 750 supporters lent their social media accounts to the Thunderclap, so that a message calling for decisive action at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s triennial assembly reached far and wide. “The final social reach was over 1.1 million people, making the #ICAOA39 hashtag the second top trending hashtag on Twitter,” writes Pierre-Jean Brasier, network coordinator at Brussels-based Carbon Market Watch.
But news from the floor of the ICAO assembly made it clear that a United Nations body renowned for its procrastination on climate and carbon wasn’t about to change easily. “Incredible! @icao just blocked civil society from presenting views at #ICAOA39, but gave industry the floor,” tweeted Andrew Murphy of Transport Environment early Thursday. “Reflective of @icao bias.”
During the assembly, low-carbon advocates are trying to keep up the social media pressure on government delegates, including Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Environment and Climate Minister Catherine McKenna. (Follow the link on this story to help out.)
