Brussels, 03/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - The 17 countries which oppose the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) and are unwilling to pay for any emissions allowances for flights to or from EU airports concluded their meeting in Washington (see EUROPE 10668) by restating, to the great satisfaction of the European Union, their desire to work for a comprehensive solution within the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The EU, however, remained cautious in the welcome it gave this statement, which it would like to see transformed into effective measures to reduce CO2 emissions from air transport.
The reaction from European Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard was not long in coming: “Good that parties promise to engage in ICAO - the EU has done so for many years. But will they engage more? How will they make ICAO deliver? Still many unanswered key questions. Noteworthy that there was no agreed statement from the meeting and nothing new on substance”, she tweeted on Thursday 2 August.
According to a high-ranking US official, quoted by Reuters on 2 August, “the meeting confirmed the very solid and strong opposition to the ETS but also indicated that there is a lot of interest among countries in continuing to work on the suite of activities in ICAO”.
The solution envisaged by the coalition of the 17 countries which oppose the ETS remains an agreement within the ICAO on the objectives and a framework based on market instruments to reduce civil aviation emissions. For the moment, however, nothing concrete has been achieved. (AN/transl.rt)