Fresh calls for US to block EU ETS
A US aviation body has made a fresh appeal to the US government to block the EU’s controversial Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
Airlines for America (A4A) yesterday called on the Obama administration to take “immediate action to halt the application [of the ETS], which seeks to unlawfully tax US airlines”.
“Urgent, concrete action by the United States is needed to overturn the EU ETS and bring the EU back to the negotiating table in support of a global framework,” said A4A’s Vice President for Environmental Affairs, Nancy Young, testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee. “The United States, in its role as a world leader, must wield the tools it has to remove the wrong measure in favour of the right one.”
A4A urged the US to initiate a legal challenge in an effort to force the EU to negotiate a resolution.
Young said that the ETS was not only bad for the aviation industry, but set a dangerous precedent for other sectors. “Simply put, if the EU can tax the emissions over the entirety of a flight merely because it touches down in Europe, what is to keep the EU from imposing greenhouse gas import taxes on US autos, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other goods? And on what basis will the United States stand up against other countries that seek to do the same?” Young asked.
India and China have already prohibited their airlines from participating in the ETS, and while the EU has set airlines a mid-June deadline to submit their carbon data, rhetoric coming from China especially appears to indicate that airlines are not going to comply. The US House of Representatives yesterday called on the Senate to pass the ‘European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act’, which would ban US carriers from participating in the scheme.