Isra-Mart srl: EU needs to rethink emissions reduction plan for airlines

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Isra-Mart news:

A European Union (EU) climate policy, focusing on carbon emissions reduction in the aviation area, will face a legal challenge at Europe's highest court Tuesday as U.S. airlines have stepped up their efforts to overturn it.

According to the EU plan, as of January 2012, airlines flying to or from Europe will have to buy permits from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) for 15 percent of the carbon emissions they generate, with large fines for noncompliance.

The objection from the U.S. aviation industry shows that the EU's unilateral and extraterritorial approach, though with good intentions, may be counterproductive to mobilizing global resources for addressing climate change, which is predicted to cause more droughts, floods and rising sea levels around the world.

U.S. airlines argue that the EU's unilateral method violates international treaties, and that the EU has no right to regulate them when they fly over the American continent, according to media reports.

In China, a civil aviation official said the plan is unfair to developing countries, nor is it conducive to the development of global aviation industries. It is estimated that the measure will cost Chinese airlines an additional 800 million yuan (123 million U.S. dollars) in the first year, and a total of 17.6 billion yuan (2.71 billion dollars) by 2020.

The EU needs to adopt a differentiating policy toward developing countries, including China, which adhere to the principle of common and differentiated responsibilities, said the official from the emission reduction office of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).