The European Commission proposed to include in its emissions
trading system greenhouse gases emitted within European regional airspace from all
international flights, effective Jan. 1, 2014. Currently, ETS applies only to
flights with origins and destinations within the airspace of the European
Economic Area, which includes the 28 European Union member states, Norway and
Iceland.
EC proposed the use of such a measure "until a planned global
market-based mechanism becomes applicable to international aviation emissions
by 2020, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization."
If adopted, the revised emissions trading system would include flights
to and from countries outside the EEA, while exempting the portions of those
flights outside EEA airspace, according to EC.
Member states participating in the
United Nations ICAO meeting this month agreed to propose in 2016 a more detailed
plan for a global framework. Industry groups and others that had objected to
EU's earlier intention to regulate emissions on the entirety of incoming and
outgoing international flights praised the ICAO approach. After the ICAO
agreement, EC suggested that individual countries or groups of countries in the
years leading up to implementation of a global market-based mechanism "should—within certain parameters—be able to deploy"
local and regional emissions programs.
"With this proposal, Europe is taking the responsibility to
reduce emissions within its own airspace until the global measure begins,"
according to statement from Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate
Action.
"In the meantime, Europe must insist on our own sovereign
right to regulate aviation in and over our own airspace," Hedegaard said
during a Wednesday press briefing. "I fail to imagine that other states
that normally respect laws that are democratically made in different countries
would not respect this."
The measure goes to the European Parliament and the European
Council for consideration.