CONTROLLING AIRLINE EMISSIONS

Europe Moves to Limit Aviation Emissions, China Follows; EU and China to Begin Limiting Flight Emissions While U.S. Airlines Fight Regulations
Melanie Hart, August 1, 2011 (Center for American Progress)

"China is hoping its aviation emission efficiency measure will qualify as an "equivalent measure" under the EU's emission trading scheme, which will monitor and cap carbon emissions for all flights that touch down in European territory.

"The global aviation community has been trying to establish some sort of global aviation emission reduction system through the International Civil Aviation Organization, or ICAO, since 1997. Unfortunately, that process has been a complete failure…Europeans decided to take the lead by incorporating aviation emissions into their own cap-and-trade system…Starting January 2012, the commission will monitor and cap carbon emissions for all flights that touch down in European territory…"

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"U.S. airlines are seeking an exemption to the European system by arguing that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, or ETS, violates the Chicago Convention, which grants individual countries ‘complete and exclusive sovereignty’ over their own domestic airspace, and the U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement…[and have] filed a lawsuit to challenge the third-party country extension plan...

"China is also making waves…and China and the United States are undoubtedly watching one another to see if they can divide the Europeans on this issue...Unlike the United States, however, the Chinese are making an effort to meet the Europeans halfway. And our refusal to offer any sort of positive engagement is giving China added bargaining power on aviation emissions while eroding U.S. leadership on global climate change..."