BA CEO to pledge aviation sector C02 cuts to U.N.

A passenger is seen photographing a British Airways aircraft with his mobile telephone at Heathrow Airport near London in this March 15, 2009 file photo.

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh will tell world leaders at the U.N. climate summit on Tuesday the aviation industry could halve its carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, a spokesman for the airline said on Monday.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) agreed to the ambitious target to cut sector emissions to 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 at its annual general meeting in June.

Britain's Committee on Climate Change said this month flights could produce up to a fifth of all global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, from about 2 percent now, without urgent and drastic action.

IATA says a global carbon emissions permit trading system should be introduced to encourage cuts, rather than slapping more taxes on air travel.

"Carbon trading gives airlines a direct incentive to reduce their emissions. Flight taxes, such as Air Passenger Duty, do not," British Airways said in a statement.

"Taxation guarantees no emissions reductions whatever, and does not necessarily provide any revenue for environmental objectives."

World leaders are to meet in New York on Tuesday for a one-day summit to try to unlock 190-nation negotiations on a new deal to combat global warming due to be hammered out in Copenhagen in December.

IATA also agreed in June to cap carbon emissions from aviation from 2020, and aim for an average improvement in fuel efficiency of 1.5 percent per year from 2009 to 2020.

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren; editing by Andrew Roche)