Brussels, 10/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 6 April, EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard tweeted that polluters must pay, even when they fly. On 5 April, the French prime minister, François Fillon, wrote an open letter to the European Commission expressing French airlines' concerns at possible retaliation by countries like China that are unhappy about the EU's ETS directive which introduced a charge on airlines using EU airports to cover 15% of the greenhouse gas emissions quotas allocated to them.
In his letter to José Manuel Barroso, Fillon says that it is essential to cut emissions in the aviation industry, but there is huge concern among business leaders that China may cancel or put on hold a huge order for Airbus (a European aircraft). He argues that it is absolutely essential in respect of the ever worsening global environment in this connection, that the EU makes the necessary effort to find mutually acceptable solutions with countries like China. Since the start of its battle of wills with non-EU countries over the ETS charges for airlines, the Commission (backed by the member states) has been calling for progress to be made at the International Airline Carriers Organisation in work on reducing aircraft emissions, but says it will not be changing the EU's legislation if international agreement is not reached.
Last month, Airbus and eight airlines called on David Cameron, François Fillon, Angela Merkel and Mariano Rajoy to take action to head off escalation in the trade spat with China and other countries unhappy about aviation being included in the EU's carbon trading system (see EUROPE 10572). (AN/transl.fl)