In spite of their opposition, airlines will profit from the European Union’s program to charge for carbon emissions by charging passengers for the costs in higher fares, according to a report released by Climate Advisers.
Connie Hedegaard
The report from Climate Advisers, a consulting group that helps companies deal with climate policies, and the Center for American Progress, coincides with a meeting in Moscow of officials from 26 countries to discuss opposition to the program.
Among the attendees are China and India, which have refused to participate in the European program, along with other opposing nations, such as the United States, that are seeking a political compromise. But Siim Kallas, the European Commission’s vice president for transport, and Connie Hedegaard, the European Union’s climate commissioner, say the EU will not suspend the program.
The European Union’s climate chief said she hopes countries opposed to its rules that charge airlines for carbon emissions take their complaints to the U.N. aviation body, where talks could help to defuse tensions over the strict measures.
Last September, opposing countries threatened to file a formal complaint at the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) against the EU program that came into force on Jan. 1, but have yet to take formal action to challenge the measures at that body.
Multilateral Agreement, a joke
“It’s one thing that they do not like what Europe is doing. What can they agree to in ICAO? It will be very interesting for us to see that next step,” EU Climate Commissioner said in an interview for Reuters.
Environment ministers of Brazil, South Africa, India and China issued a statement condemning the EU’s airline emissions charges, and said the bloc was jeopardizing the global fight against climate change by acting on its own rather than building a multilateral agreement.
“That is of course not a valid argument,” Hedegaard said. “Everybody knows that Europe has been fighting for a multilateral system. Everybody knows that other parties blocked that.”
Europe has worked for a decade though ICAO to craft a solution to curb airline emissions, and launched its own Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) after it failed to win a global agreement.
Trivial fares
Under the ETS, airlines would be required to pay for 15 percent of the carbon they emit, a cost Hedegaard said would add about 1.5 euros ($2) to the cost of a trip from London to New York or about 2 euros to a trip from Beijing to Frankfurt. Airlines that fly to Europe and do not comply with the ETS face a fine of 100 euros for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted and for which they have not paid allowances.
In the case of persistent offenders, the EU can ban airlines from its airports – a measure that has drawn protest from airlines around the world. China has banned its carriers from taking part and the United States has urged the EU to reconsider the program, warning it would take unspecified action if it were enforced.
