China Balking at EU Airline Emissions Charges

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

E.U. Rebuffs China's Challenge to Airline Emission System

By JAMES KANTER

BRUSSELS — The European Commission said Monday that it would continue charging airlines for their greenhouse gas emissions, despite an announcement from China that its carriers would be forbidden to pay without its permission.

The E.U. program, which began Jan. 1, requires airlines to account for all emissions on flights using European airports and represents the Union’s boldest move to protect the environment.

“We’re not backing down in our legislation,” said Isaac Valero-Ladrón, a spokesman for the commission, the executive body of the European Union. “We’ll apply this to companies operating in Europe.”

Europe says its system is less costly than portrayed and would speed up the adoption of greener technologies at a time when air traffic, which represents about 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, is growing much faster than gains in efficiency.

Earlier Monday, the Chinese air regulator effectively prohibited the country’s carriers from paying those charges or other fees, or increasing ticket prices in response to the E.U. system, without permission from the government.

The Chinese government said it was also considering unspecified measures to protect Chinese companies, something Europe can ill afford as it looks to China to help ease its debt crisis. European countries also want access to China’s fast-growing economy, including free-spending Chinese tourists who might not show up.

The intensifying dispute is another sign that European environmental regulations could lead to a trade war if governments start retaliating against carriers or products.

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