Air Transport

EU ministers back unilateral emissions deal

By Aimée Turner

Brussels' controversial move to go it alone by unilaterally imposing emissions trading on international aviation could force foreign airlines to shore up Europe's efforts to develop its green aircraft of the future.

European Union ministers have formally backed the deal brokered between European Council officials and Parliament negotiators over the terms for aviation's inclusion in the scheme.

The compromise deal, which will now be voted on in the European Parliament on 9 July, will force any airline - regardless of nationality - flying into one of its airports from 2012 to pay money into reserves earmarked for research and development funding into more efficient aircraft technologies - to be distributed by the relevant revenue-raising nation.

The issue continues to prove controversial with the USA, however. Speaking at the Transatlantic Aviation Issues Conference earlier this week, Sharon Pinkerton, vice-president government affairs for the Air Transport Association of America, said she foresaw "a lot of litigation" both at the International Civil Aviation Organisation level through contravention of global aviation's Chicago Convention as well as of the numerous bilaterals already in place.

Carl Burleson, environment director of the US Federal Aviation Administration, said that in the event of unilateral action, foreign airlines operating into Europe would effectively be subsidising its aviation industry with the European Commission "acting as judge and jury" over another region's air transport industry.

Predicting that aviation emissions level would fall to 1997 levels by the end of 2009, Burleson joined the various airline industry bodies that have argued that emissions trading would be highly damaging at time of record high oil prices. "We may have a lot of other challenges to deal with, but we think we have this one under control," he says.

Peter Liese, the politician charged with steering through the legislation through the European Parliament, expects no major legal consequences. 'The source of the problem is that ICAO did not do its job. That does not mean we don't want a global agreement, however. A bilateral with the USA will be actively pursued, although any outcome will need to have the same environmental benefit that emissions trading offers."

The deal also sets the initial cap on the quantity of allowances allocated to airlines each year at 97% and then 95% of 2004-6 average emissions for the 2012-20 period. The agreement also calls for 15% of allowances to be auctioned.