International airlines excluded from ETS

EU's ETS has been widely-criticised

The EU has announced international airlines will no longer be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as part of plans to shake-up the criticised initiative.

Connie Hedegaard, commissioner for climate action said the fee would no longer imply on flights to and from non-EU countries after the scheme faced criticisms from many carriers based in the US and Asia Pacific.

IATA said the announcement was a “significant step” towards a global solution under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) although BATA warned of a “competitive distortion”.

The EU also backs a global solution, as reported by Travel Daily earlier this week.

“Any part suspension of the EU ETS must not result in different rules applying to different airlines dependent on the routes they operate. There is a potential for competitive distortion between airlines with this action which could be damaging,” said Simon Buck, chief executive of BATA. “UK airlines have taken great strides towards reducing their emissions over the past few decades and continue to do so through initiatives such as Sustainable Aviation.”

Further announcements are expected to be made tomorrow (13 Nov) on the scheme. 

By Amanda Greenwood, 12 November 2012, Monday 4:39 PM