Air Transport

Fears that the lengthy two-year co-decision negotiation process on the EC's proposals in both the Council of Ministers and European Parliament have watered the issues down come as the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Committee on Aviation Environment Protection (CAEP) meets this week to present its guidance on emissions trading schemes, ready for the next ICAO general assembly in September.

ICAO has been looking at aviation emissions since 1998. At the last ICAO assembly in 2004, the 189 member countries agreed on establishing environmental policy in this area, paving the way for emissions trading to be implemented at regional level. Although overall progress has been slow, the move by Europe inflamed legislators in the USA, who condemned the idea of forcing its airlines to participate and accused EU member states of potentially breaking legal obligations under the 1944 Chicago Convention.

ICAO's CAEP committee, which holds meetings over the next two weeks, is coming under increasing pressure to present guidelines on a globally workable - and acceptable - emissions regime. As one observer commented, "it all really depends on the backbone of the EC whether a workable solution comes into existence", but the EC's vision could still undergo a radical shift.