It's becoming increasingly difficult to find anyone, in the aviation industry at least, that is in favour of the European Union's emissions trading system.
But European Low Fares Airline Association secretary general John Hanlon had the guts to stand up on stage during the World Route Development Forum in Berlin and declare his support for the controversial scheme.
I'd like to applaud John for doing this, and for making his case in such an eloquent way.
Especially as during a panel discussion at the same event on the same day it was announced that 25 countries had signed a joint declaration, in which they vowed to fight the EU on emissions.
I can understand the opposition to including aviation in ETS because yes a global scheme would be better, yes there is so much efficiency that could be gained if the EU and US governments got their acts together and implemented the Single European Sky and NextGen ATM initiatives, and yes the aviation industry has done a remarkable job of clubbing together and developing a joint strategy for dealing with its impact on climate change.
BUT, these things are all in the future. And why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?
Yes, ETS is a unilateral system and yes there are many unfair things about it. As John said, it's "not perfect". But it's something concrete that enables the airline industry to continue growing while also accounting for its carbon dioxide emissions.
It's a hot topic which is only going to get hotter the closer we get to the 1 January 2012 start date of ETS for aviation. Any thoughts?
Recent Comments