Specifically, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011 states that "the Secretary of Transportation shall prohibit an operator of a civil aircraft of the United States from participating in the emissions trading scheme unilaterally established by the European Union." The legislation also states that the Department of Transportation secretary, Federal Aviation Administration administrator "and other appropriate officials of the United States government should, as appropriate, use their authority to conduct international negotiations to pursue a worldwide approach to address aircraft emissions, including the environmental impact of aircraft emissions." Stating a preference for a global framework and alluding to the now-signed piece of U.S. legislation, European Commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard this month
proposed to delay for one year the international commercial aviation component of Europe's ETS.