Aviation emissions

European Airlines are denouncing the EU's plans to ease aviation into the bloc's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) next year.

The Association of European Airlines (AEA) says the new rules will produce a significant burden for the industry, as it struggles amid economic hard times. It attacked EU suggestions that the new rules could generate savings for the industry over the next decade.

"There’s no money being saved here," said AEA spokesman David Henderson. "There's a great deal of money being spent."

On Monday, EU Director General for Climate Action Jos Delbeke announced details of how Europe's airlines will be brought into the ETS, a cap-and-trade system of reducing Europe's contribution to climate change.

Improve technology

Delbeke said carriers would receive 85 percent of their emissions permits for free in 2012. The figure would drop to 82 percent between 2013 and 2020. This means airlines will need to buy 15 percent of their permits next year, amounting 380 million euros.

Delbeke said the staggered approach would ease the economic impact on the industry, in hopes airlines will use the extra money to improve emissions technology.

"At current market prices these free allowances represent more than 20 billion euros over the decade," said EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard.

"With these potential revenues, airlines could invest in modernizing their fleets, improving fuel efficiency and using non-fossil aviation fuel," she said.

Challenges from abroad

The EU is pressing ahead with the system despite a court challenge by the US airline industry, which says that it could cost them 3.0 billion dollars (2.21 billion euros) over the next ten years.

Chinese carriers have also complained, saying it would cost them an additional 800 million yuan (92.5 million euros) a year.

The Air Transport Association of America, which represents US airlines argues that the EU's imposition of emissions caps on non-European carriers breaches international law.

AEA spokesman David Henderson said strategies should be implemented to lower the industry's carbon footprint. But he said the environmental benefits from any cap and trade system will be very small if only Europe participates.

"In order to get buy-in from the rest of the world, it should not have been so draconian," Henderson said about Monday's announcement.

WWF backing

The environmental group WWF welcomed the measures announced by Brussels as "an important step in pricing carbon pollution caused by the aviation sector."

"This is a modest but important start in reducing international aviation emissions," said WWF climate policy officer Sam Vandenplas.

Aviation currently represents three percent of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. It is one of the fastest growing sources of man-made emissions.

The EU's ETS covers most of the bloc's other carbon intensive sectors. It limits companies' emissions by issuing permits for each ton of carbon they can produce.

Companies can buy extra credits if they exceed their limit, or sell excess credits if they emit less.

Report: Dan Boyce (nh)
Editor: Nathan Witkop