Brussels, 20/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 February, Connie Hedegaard, the EU commissioner for climate action, made it quite clear that the EU would not be intimidated by pressure and would not suspend its climate legislation, including that on the emissions trading system (ETS) in civil aviation.
Hedegaard has addressed a message to the countries - China, the US and India in the lead -that are opposed to their airlines operating in the EU paying for 15% of the emissions quotas allocated to them. The countries are meeting in Moscow on Tuesday to look at possible retaliation measures. The message Hedegaard has put out to them on Twitter is: “We know what you do not like but what is your constructive proposal for a global agreement on aviation?” This is a means of once again reminding the EU's partners that in the absence of an agreement on reducing aviation emissions at the ICAO, the ETS directive is exclusively intended to tackle global warming and includes exemptions for countries that may have national measures for reducing their CO2 emissions that are similar to those of the EU. Hedegaard adds that it is unwise to start a full-scale trade war against the EU merely for the sake of China's aviation industry interests. (AN/transl.fl)