Airlines give cautious welcome to the inclusion of aviation

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) gave a cautious welcome to the inclusion of aviation in the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS). The directive announced by the Commission today will cover emissions from flights within the EU from 2011 and all flights to and from Europe from 2012. Airlines will be able to trade emissions with other sectors.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO said, "We support emissions trading as one of a package of measures to reduce CO2 emissions. If properly designed, it can play an important role in tackling aviation's contribution to global warming along with investment in technology and more efficient infrastructure. But it must be implemented in the right way. The Commission has taken many of our concerns on board but faces two major challenges if it is truly committed to tackling emissions.

First, Europe has the power to reduce aviation CO2 emissions 12% by implementing the Single European Sky. We have 34 air traffic control centres in Europe but only one in the USA for a similar traffic and land size. This leads to inefficiencies, delays, and too much time in the air. Secondly, when aviation is brought into the ETS the Commission must follow the guidelines that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will produce next year. We must have a global approach for a global problem."

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