India could soon become the next country to prohibit its airlines from complying with the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS).
In parliament on 19 March, its minister of state of environment and forests Jayanthi Natarajan said that the country is a party to the joint declarations issued in New Delhi and Moscow by states opposing the ETS.
She revealed that the declaration issued in Moscow spells a basket of measures that may be taken - including banning airlines from participating in the scheme, reviewing the bilateral air services agreements and invoking the dispute resolution mechanism under the Chicago Convention.
"India considers the steps taken by the EU as a unilateral measure and in violation of the Chicago Convention and the provisions of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The government has expressed its serious concerns to the European Union on this unilateral measure both at multilateral and bilateral level," says Natarajan.
She added that the ETS is likely to cost airlines an additional €8 per passenger for a flight from India to Europe.
Meanwhile, media reports in India say that a directive will soon be given for airlines to not participate in the scheme.
Last month, the Civil Aviation Administration of China also banned China's airlines from complying with the scheme.
Airbus, together with eight other top aviation players in Europe have also written joint letters to urge European political leaders to step in and stop an escalating trade conflict with countries opposing the ETS.
Airbus added that approval for $12 billion worth of Airbus orders has been suspended in China, a move that is likely to put more than 2,000 Airbus jobs in jeopardy.
The scheme, which kicked in this year, caps emissions on airlines operating to and from the EU, and has resulted in several countries and carriers protesting the move, threatening to impose retaliatory measures on European carriers.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
