EU forces CO2 caps on airlines
2008-10-24 19:12
Luxembourg - EU nations on Friday agreed to bring airlines into the fight against global warming from 2012, though promising their contribution won't be too damaging economically to the fragile sector.
From January 2012 all airline companies operating in or out of an EU country, including non-European carriers, will have to limit emissions to 97% of 2005 levels.
From 2013 that figure will dip to 95% with further reductions envisaged later.
Airlines are furious about the plans which they say threaten their very survival as they struggle to cope with recent high fuel prices and have warned that it could spark trade wars with other countries.
The plans have also sounded alarm bells in Washington which has raised the prospect of launching litigation if Europe goes ahead with them.
According to the plans, airlines will have to meet the pollution targets either by reducing their emissions or by buying carbon dioxide credits from other industries with surpluses.
Additionally, airlines will have to buy 15% of their emissions allowances through auctions, although they will receive the rest for free.
However given the problems being experienced by the sector, amid historically high oil prices in the past months and with consumers suffering from the credit crunch, some exemptions and concessions were agreed in the measure, rubber stamped by EU interior ministers in Luxembourg.
New entrants, or fast-growing operators in the airline sector will have a 3% leeway in emissions.
The new measures also exclude emergency services, such as search-and-rescue aircraft, fire-fighting and humanitarian aid flights as well as police, customs and military operations.
Members states have 12 months to bring their national laws into line with the new EU rules, which are already a compromise between the European Parliament and the bloc's 27 nations.
The aviation emissions system is part of a broader European Union scheme to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, from 1990 levels.
Currently, aircraft produce 3% of all European greenhouse gas emissions, although the European Commission has said that rate could double by 2020.