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07
Mar

EU surrenders on aviation in ETS

MEPs and member state negotiators reached a deal last night (4 March) to change the rules of the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that will essentially exempt non-EU airlines from having to pay for their CO2 emissions.

The change was demanded by third countries such as Russia, China and the United States.

The ETS legislation, adopted in 2008, has covered all emissions from flights landing or taking off from an EU airport since 1 January 2012. But third countries objected to the inclusion of emissions that did not take place in EU airspace, saying it was a breach of sovereignty.

The European Commission temporarily exempted flights leaving or entering EU airspace in 2012, in order to give the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) time to agree a global mechanism to control aviation emissions.

In September ICAO adopted a timeline to agree a future mechanism in 2016, and the Commission decided this was enough to propose an amendment to the legislation to exempt emissions outside EU airspace until then.

However the third countries demanded that the EU go further, exempting all emissions from flights entering or leaving the EU – even those emissions that took place within EU airspace. National EU governments have been leaned on heavily by these foreign governments to change the Commission’s proposal. Airbus has also been lobbying heavily, fearing retaliation from China if Chinese airlines are charged anything, according to sources.

In January the European Parliament voted to back the Commission’s airspace approach. German centre-right MEP Peter Liese, who led negotiations for the Parliament, said bowing to the foreign pressure would mean new air hubs just outside EU airspace, such as Istanbul, would gain at the expense of EU competitors.

But MEPs were overpowered in negotiations by member states – led by France, Germany and the UK – fearful of a potential trade war with global partners. The deal agreed last night exempts all emissions from any flight entering or leaving EU airspace, essentially exempting all foreign flights from complying with the ETS. European airlines operating within EU airspace will still have to comply.

“With this deal European governments have conceded again to international pressure without getting anything meaningful in return,” said Bill Hemmnings of green transport group T&E. “Shrinking the aviation ETS to cover intra-EU flights effectively amounts to the dismantling of a European climate law.”

The deal would reduce the amount of CO2 emissions covered by three quarters compared with the original scheme, and by a third compared to the Commission’s proposal, according to T&E.

Many Liberal and centre-right MEPs did not support the Parliament’s position and welcomed the compromise. “The compromise is a step in the right direction, in which the reality of international climate policy is recognized,” said German liberal MEP Holger Krahmer.

The Association of European Airlines, which represents Europe’s major carriers, has argued that if the international controversy around the EU ETS were to continue, EU-registered airlines serving destinations beyond the EU could be exposed to retaliatory measures from third countries.

However the European Low Fares Airline Association, which represents budget carriers which operate for the most part only in Europe, has said this change will subject European airlines to charges that their foreign competitors will not face.

Satu Hassi, a Finnish Green MEP who served as a shadow negotiator for the file, called for the full Parliament to reject the deal when it votes in plenary next month.

“It is reckless to dismantle this effective climate policy instrument in exchange for a vague promise on a global scheme in the distant future without guarantees of environmental integrity or ambition,” she said. “The actions of Airbus and the European airlines to undermine EU climate policy have been shameless and discredit the sector as a constructive partner for the future.”

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