IATA chief: EU having second thoughts on ETS and aviation
21 Nov 2011
The debate about the inclusion of non-EU airlines in the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) continues across the globe with the matter coming up for discussion at the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Assn. (ALTA) Airline Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro.
In an interesting insight, IATA DG and CEO, Tony Tyler, acknowledged that though there were "no public signs" the EU was backing down, Tyler said IATA believes "they are having some second thoughts."
At the forum, an US official accused EU governments of "undermining" global efforts to control aviation carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
US Dept of Transportation (DOT) assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, Susan Kurlan, said that rather than working toward an international agreement through ICAO, governments around the world were wasting their time fighting the aviation sector's inclusion in the ETS starting next year.
Considering that the US and many other nations agree with the EU objective of controlling aviation CO2 emissions, the EU approach of including non-EU airlines was counterproductive, she said.
The EU approach was "the wrong way to pursue the right objective," she said.