It is with this in mind (and in line with its overall strategy to tackle climate change) that the European Parliament approved, by a large majority, the European Commission's plan to include the aviation sector in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS). In 2004, greenhouse gas emissions from the EU's share of international aviation increased by 7.5 percent compared with 2003. Cumulative growth of CO2 emissions, meanwhile, is at 87 percent since 1990, in stark contrast to the EU's overall 8% greenhouse gas reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol.
A 10 percent cut in airline emissions
MEPs introduced several significant changes into the draft law, however. While the Commission had proposed capping ETS allowances for CO2 emissions at 100 percent of aircraft operators' average annual emissions during 2004-2006, the EP went even further, reducing the number of ETS-authorised emissions for aviation to 90 percent. Though acknowledging the specific nature of the airline sector ("it is difficult", says the final report, "for aircraft operators to switch to alternative (renewable) energy sources". MEPs endorsed the need for even more ambitious emission targets. Depending on the EU's choice for a post-2012 target of either 30 percent or 20 percent reductions in overall CO2 emissions (as compared to 1990 levels), they decided, "the Commission shall reduce the total quantity of allowances" in further periods.
The ETS allocates a number of permits to operators, each giving them the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide per year. The total number of permits sets a limit, therefore, on the overall emissions from participants in the scheme. While some permits are allocated to operators free of charge, others are traded freely (auctioned) -- this, to allow emissions reductions to be made where they are most cost-effective. While the Commission proposed no concrete values for the number of permits to be auctioned, MEPs did so, deciding on an initial figure of 25 percent.
Revenues generated from the auctioning of allowances, as MEPs see it, should be used "to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the EU and third countries," to fund relevant research and development and, lastly, "to lower taxes and charges on climate-friendly transport such as rail and bus."
All flights covered by 2011
The Commission had also proposed that the ETS should cover all intra-EU flights as of 2011, but that flights between the EU and third-country airports should come under its scope only as of 2012. The Parliament disagreed, voting through amendments that would see no distinction made between EU and non-EU flights in this regard: the scheme, they decided, would cover both types of flights by 2011. As rapporteur Peter Liese (EPP-ED, DE) had earlier stated, "It is difficult to explain that a flight from the UK to Morocco is not covered by the scheme while a flight from the UK to the Canary Islands [would] be covered."
Lastly, whereas the Commission sought to exempt government flights from the scheme, MEPs - taking the line that governments ought to be setting an example - deleted the derogation.
What's next
It is now up to the Council of Ministers, as joint legislator with Parliament, to decide its position on the amendments adopted by MEPs. If all of Parliament's amendments are acceptable to the Council, the legislation will be adopted in its modified form. If the Council rejects any of Parliament's amendments or adds any of its own, the text will return to Parliament for a second reading.
