Comment
Drop the revised EU aviation ETS
November 1st 2013
It beggars belief. After years of negotiations and controversy, the 191 members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) reached a landmark agreement in early October to establish a global market-based measure (MBM) to reduce the industry’s emissions across the globe. Read More » The detail of the MBM structure is to be ready for ICAO’s next assembly in 2016 with implementation set for 2020. It was a landmark decision of far-reaching significance.
Within a week, the European Union (EU) dropped a bombshell that threatens the ICAO breakthrough agreement and renews the risk of a global aviation trade war. The EU said it would restart the clock on charging non-European carriers for their emissions until the global scheme comes into force in 2020. This is less encompassing than the original EU airline ETS, but that is beside the point.
Brussels knows even the abbreviated scheme is not acceptable to several countries, including China and the U.S. The U.S. has passed legislation that forbids the country’s airlines from participating in the scheme. India, like China, has banned its airlines from accepting any regional ETS. It is highly unlikely they, and several other nations including Russia, will change their minds.
If the European Parliament approves the revised ETS legislation – and that is a likely outcome - the good work done in Montreal is threatened. In retrospect, it is ironic that industry bodies worldwide universally praised the EU for the part it played in achieving the ICAO accord.
There is no doubt that this is a setback after the hard work of crafting a unified position among 191 sometimes fractious states. Given the circumstances of the EU announcement, the reaction of global airline bodies was level-headed. The International Air Transport Association and the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines expressed concern at the decision – although they must privately have fumed – as there are already obstacles on the path to an MBM agreement in 2016.
The most immediate issue is dealing with the clashing demands of developed and developing countries, with emerging economies arguing that first world nations must carry a larger share of the burden.
Nothwithstanding the difficulties ahead in negotiations for a global scheme, the EU should recognize that aviation is doing its fair share, in fact much more than its fair share, in transforming itself into a truly green industry. Europe’s leaders should let this legislation fade away and direct their efforts towards achieving a sustainable global MBM.
