EU ETS is the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. It was launched in 2005 and aims to limit greenhouse gasses. It requires all businesses to report their emissions. Each company is given a certain amount of allowable emissions. If at the end of the reporting period they have surpassed their quota, they will be fined heavily. As aircraft flying into Europe are subject to this, there is likely to be some financial repercussions. Data found here:
http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/policy-legislation/energy-intensive-industries/pages/euets.aspx.
Currently US Congress is taking steps to pass legislation to exempt U S airlines from this legislation and to put the EU on notice about their displeasure with this legislation. Read more here. The US and many other countries are upset over this legislation and view it as a violation of sovereignty. ICAO however is taking a different stance that may appease both the EU and the opposing countries. ICAO is advocating for a global policy to ensure all companies are treated equally and no companies are penalized for original location.
Personally, I agree with ICAO. There needs to be a standard policy. The policy is good in intention but unfairly penalizes non EU companies. An adaptation of the EU's current policy will permit the end goal to be accomplished on a grand scale and ensure there is less blatant targeting.
I enjoyed your discussion of the unfair penalizations across the board as I did not discuss them in my own blog. It make a very good point. I feel there is a lot of research needed before I could actively debate with you over this specific topic.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your statement of "The policy is good in intention but unfairly penalizes non EU companies" which is a very good statement. I believe the primes is good but there has to be a better way to implement it instead of charging airlines potentially over a billion dollars over time. ICAO needs to step in and come up with a solution to resolve this problem before it becomes a catastrophe. If airlines are going to have pay so much money they could potentially end some routes to Europe. If airlines are losing money doing some routes due to this ETS why would they fly it?
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