The EU could move unilaterally to curb airline emissions
International airlines may no longer get a free pass for their emissions under a proposal laid out by the European Commission.
International airlines may no longer get a free pass for their emissions under a proposal laid out by the European Commission (EC) in September.
The EC strategy would draw the airline sector into the European Union’s (EU) greenhouse gas emissions trading system, which opened for business this year and is the centerpiece of EU efforts to meet emissions reduction targets agreed to under the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Environmentalists call the move an important first step. The airline industry, however, is split over the issue, and U.S. officials question the measure’s legality.
Aviation, along with the shipping industry, was specifically exempted from the Kyoto Protocol because of difficulties in achieving emissions cuts across international borders; no government regulates these emissions today. The aviation sector currently accounts for 3% of overall greenhouse gas emissions in the EU, but these are growing faster than those of any other economic sector, and they could wipe out emissions cuts made by other sectors in the future, according to the EC. EU emissions from international flights grew by 73% from 1990 to 2003 and are projected to double again by 2012. Globally, aviation could by 2050 have 11 times as much impact on climate as it did in 1992, according to estimates from the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental think tank.
Including aviation in the market-based trading scheme is the most feasible option for reducing emissions, preferable to other measures such as fuel taxes or charges on takeoffs and emissions, according to a study released by the EC in August. A public internet consultation carried out during the spring demonstrated strong support for such a move, despite EC estimates that ticket prices could rise as much as €9 per round-trip flight, depending on how strict the emissions cap is.
Consequently, the EC recommends covering emissions from all flights departing from the EU in the trading system, with EU and non-EU carriers treated equally. Narrowing the scope to intra-EU flights would cover less than 40% of EU emissions and favor long-haul over short-haul flights, contradicting environmental objectives, according to the strategy outline.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sharply criticized the EC’s plans. “Air transport is a global industry, and the environment is a global concern,” says Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO. “A European solution is no solution at all. Unilateral regional efforts will only distract from this process.” Instead, the IATA wants aviation emissions to be addressed by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization, which endorsed emissions trading last year but found that further study is needed.
The Association of European Airlines (AEA), however, is more receptive to the idea. “Our main concern is where and to whom it will apply, but emissions trading is probably the way we should be going in the future,” says David Henderson, AEA’s information manager.
“The EU is free to take action with respect to its own airlines, but the legal basis for mandating participation by non-EU airlines is unclear and raises some serious questions over whether such a proposal would be consistent with international obligations,” according to a government official with the U.S. Mission to the EU, who requested anonymity.
