Environment

Airlines Included in Emissions Trading Plan

by Amy Judd | October 24, 2008 at 10:24 am

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Today the European Union approved plans that will include forcing airlines to take part in a greehouse gas reducing program, which will come at a bad time for the aviation industry as a recession looms.

The decision means that all airlines flying within the borders of Europe will have to trade pollution permits beginning in 2012. The airline will have to buy more permits if they want to run more or longer flights, as those produce more CO2.

The United States has criticized the plans, as they do not want their US based airlines that fly to Europe to pay more because they have to fly longer.

Eastern Europe is also saying they cannot afford to put measures in place like this at such a bad ecomonic time.

Faced with higher fuel costs, some airlines are already cutting fuel consumption and carbon emissions. They also object to the new rules, because it could burden them with extra costs of as much as 4 billion euros ($5.12 billion) a year.

The EU wants to use the new rules as a base to reach a broad international agreement next year to reduce emissions from aviation.

The plans come a week after EU leaders underlined their desire to strike a deal by December on cutting overall carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020. The European Parliament has already backed the measure, and now bloc's 27 governments will have to put the new rules in place over the next year.

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Barbara McPherson

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 17:43 on October 24th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff. Good, it's about time that governments start to recognize the contribution by the aviation to carbon dioxide.