EU wants airline emissions cap from 2011[fr][de] 

The Commission aims to table the proposal on 20 December, pending endorsement from the 25 commissioners.

"From 2011, emissions from the aviation sector will be subject to a cap and aircraft operators will be required to surrender allowances to cover their emissions," according to a draft seen by Reuters.

"We are going to treat airlines irrespective of nationality in the same way, coming or going from EU airports," EU environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told a press briefing on 9 November (EurActiv 10/11/06).

He added that including airlines in the scheme "is necessary because aviation emissions are increasing rapidly and threaten to undermine our progress in cutting emissions from other sectors".

Details of the plan include:

• All airlines "treated irrespective of nationality in the same way, coming or going from EU airports";
• pollution limits to be set by the Commission EU-wide. This is in contrast with the current system in which they are allocated at national level and then approved or rejected by Brussels;
• overall cap calculated based on average aviation emissions in 2004-2006;
• pollution permits allocated under the scheme can only be used (and therefore traded) by the aviation sector;
• impact study evaluates that the scheme would raise ticket prices by €4.6-€39.6, depending on the distance covered;
• government and military flights excluded, and;
• emissions of Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) could be tackled as well in the form of extra CO2 submissions required from airlines.

The leak comes at a bad moment for Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas who is currently trying to persuade the US and other countries to reduce their emissions of global warming gases after 2012 at a UN conference in Nairobi.

The US has already expressed concerns that such a law should concern domestic EU flights only at a time when US companies are struggling with rising security costs after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A representative of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Sharon Pinkerton, said last year that US companies should be exempt from the EU scheme. Aviation emissions, she said, should be addressed through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Airlines are worried that the EU initiative might trigger a transatlantic dispute. Anthony Concil, a spokesman for IATA, the International Air Transport Association told Reuters: "We would be very concerned if there were areas that had extraterritorial implications."

The European airport industry supports the proposal, calling on 15 November "for the early inclusion of aviation in the EU CO2 Emission Trading Scheme." 

"Tackling aviation's contribution to climate change is the single most important challenge facing air transport today. Failing to do so would not only jeopardise aviation's future, but would be fundamentally irresponsible. Now is the time for pragmatic action," said Olivier Jankovec of Airport Council International Europe (ACI Europe).

Jos Dings of Transport and Environment, a green NGO, said that the leaked draft will only weaken the EU position as it tries to persuade the US to engage in climate negotiations for the period after 2012. 

"It is a pity that the draft has been leaked," Dings told EurActiv, adding: "It doesn't help European consensus-building".