Airlines Emissions System May Be Adjusted in Europe

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Airline Emissions System May Be Adjusted in Europe 

By JAMES KANTER

BRUSSELS — The European Union could suspend parts of a new law requiring airlines to account for their greenhouse gas emissions if countries were to make clear progress this year toward establishing a global emissions control system, a senior official said Tuesday.

The comments, by Jos Delbeke, the director general for climate action at the European Commission, came the day after China announced that its carriers would be forbidden to pay any charges under the European emissions system without Beijing’s permission.

The comments were the clearest sign yet that Europeans were considering how to defuse a mounting conflict over the new emissions law with its most important trading partners.

The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, requires airlines to account for all emissions on flights using European airports. Its goal is to 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.

But Europe’s bold climate initiative also could push nations heavily reliant on air travel into a trade war because of the effect of the new law on flights outside of European airspace.

Mr. Delbeke said at a conference in Brussels that he could recommend “a conditional suspension” of parts of the system, in which polluters can buy and sell a limited quantity of permits, each representing a ton of carbon dioxide, by the end of the year if nations sped up adoption of an effective global system.

For that to happen, any global system would have (to) be better for climate protection than simply applying the European system that is already in force, Mr. Delbeke said. A global system also would have to treat all airlines similarly and to set emissions reduction targets for a near-term date like 2020 rather than midcentury.

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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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