IATA: Difficult to implement EU emissions scheme

The International Air Transport Association said on June 12 that it will be difficult for the European Union to implement the Emissions Trading Scheme since over 30 countries oppose it.

"If countries like China, India and Russia are not going to comply, it is very hard to say how the EU is going to implement the scheme," said Paul Steele, IATA's director of aviation environment.

Eight Chinese airlines, along with two Indian counterparts, have not submitted 2011 carbon emissions data to the EU yet, while 1,200 carriers have handed over the reports, Connie Hedegaard, the EU's climate commissioner, said on May 16.

The EU will penalize airlines that do not report the data by mid-June, Hedegaard said.

However, the IATA's Steele said that he is interested to see which country will be penalized and whether the issue goes that far.

It will be difficult to get the 27 member countries to agree on the scheme and it is even more difficult to guarantee that all the countries take action, Steele added.

On the other hand, European countries also risk breaking the International Civil Aviation Covenant if they punish Chinese and Indian airlines.

“The EU's scheme is not just an industry issue, but a sovereignty problem,” Steele said.

The IATA is ratcheting up the pressure on the EU to stand down in the face of an increasingly bitter standoff over the ETS scheme to enable progress towards a global solution on aviation emissions.

The organization is working hard to finalize a market-based global solution, which will be presented in September 2013.

The IATA has three global industry targets - one is to cut net carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent over 2005 levels by 2050.

wangwen@chinadaily.com.cn