Despite Temporary Freeze, EU Regs on Foreign Airline Emissions Still Causing Worldwide Worries

Even with the European Union’s recent decision to defer airline emissions trade requirements for foreign flights coming and going from the EU until the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) meets again September, many countries around the world haven’t put much stock in any potential outcomes, and have been coming up with their own alternative contingency plans.

Cartoon courtesy of China Daily.

In the United States, President Barrack Obama signed into law, last week, the “European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011,” which gives the U.S. Transportation Secretary the authority to prohibit U.S. civil aircraft operators from participating in the EU’s emissions trading scheme, where the Secretary feels it would negatively impact U.S. interests.

In imposing prohibitions regarding U.S. aircrafts, the Secretary would be required to take into account:

• the impacts on U.S. consumers, U.S. carriers, and U.S. operators.
• the impacts on the economic, energy, and environmental security of the United States.
• the impacts on U.S. foreign relations, including existing international commitments.

The Secretary would also be required to hold a public hearing at least 30 days before enacting any U.S. prohibitions of EU regulations.

The new law also gives the Secretary, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and “other appropriate officials of the United States Government” negotiating power related to aircraft emissions, including their environmental impacts, but prohibiting the right to impose any taxes or penalties related to the EU’s emissions trading scheme.

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