Airlines turn up the heat on EU emissions scheme
The UK government is heading for a showdown with foreign governments on whose airlines it is imposing the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) without their consent.
A legal test case brought by a number of US carriers against the EU ETS in the UK, as the relevant administering authority, was referred to the European Court of Justice, with a hearing held last month.
This case is being closely monitored, with initial findings expected in October 2011, although a full judgment will probably not be available until sometime in 2012.
A number of foreign governments have called for their airlines to be exempt from the EU ETS, including the US, China and India.
In the US, the bipartisan House Transportation Committee has proposed draft legislation to prohibit US airlines from participating in the EU ETS, citing the failure of the EU to respond satisfactorily to objections raised by the US to the scheme.
Several other governments have reportedly made threats to impose retaliatory trade measures, targeting European interests, if the scheme goes ahead in its current form.
Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director general, Andrew Herdman, said, “Foreign governments have long held the view that the inclusion of foreign airlines in the EU ETS, without the consent of foreign governments, breaches international treaty obligations and bilateral agreements governing international aviation.”
Herdman said, “EU intransigence on this issue has triggered a global political backlash. The EU needs to face up to the fact that it has over-reached its authority, and must now fundamentally rethink its position.â€
Herdman said that given the need for international consensus, “combative legal challenges and threats of a tit-for-tat trade war are not the right way to resolve these mattersâ€.
“The EU needs to urgently re-engage with the international community to find constructive solutions and avoid further escalation of the dispute.â€
Ian Jarrett
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