U.S. airlines strongly opposed to unilateral application

U.S. airlines are strongly opposed to a European scheme that forces all airlines to pay for their carbon emissions, a U.S. aviation executive told Xinhua in an interview recently, warning that the European Union's unilateral application of the Trading Emission Scheme (ETS) risks triggering a full-blown trade war. Nancy Young, vice president for environmental affairs at Airlines for America, said that the ETS takes money away from the airlines' ability to invest in things that really bring environmental improvement, like new aircraft. The ETS, introduced on January 1, has drawn howls of protest from airlines around the world, with China banning its carriers from taking part. "It harms both the aviation industry and consumers," Young said. "We certainly hope that the European Union will listen to the reasons before we get to some kind of trade war." An industry trade organization for leading U.S. airlines, the Airlines for America brought a legal action against the ETS in 2009 on behalf of all its members. However, Europe's highest court ruled last December that all airlines flying to and from EU airports will have to buy permits under the ETS. Young said that the U.S. government and congress have clearly stated opposition to the ETS and the Airlines for America will support the government going forward with measures to get the European Union back to negotiation table and have them stop unilateral scheme. Last December, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated in a letter written to various European lawmakers that many countries support the U.S. against the ETS and "the EU is increasingly isolated on this in the issue." The chief U.S. diplomat warned that the U.S. will have to take "appropriate action" if the EU does not change course on the inclusion of international aviation in the ETS. On Dec. 7, U.S. Senator John Thune introduced a bill that would prohibit U.S. airlines from complying with the measure. A similar bill previously passed in the House of Representatives. Young said that main interest of countries opposing to the ETS obviously is "to get the European Union to stop before they have to do a retaliation measure." If the EU stick to the scheme, she said, countries might bring a legal challenge at the International Civil Aviation Organization, or the retaliation measures like imposing a charge on European airlines and using that money to pay back foreign airlines for anything they might be charged by EU countries. "However, the trade war is bad for airlines, bad to the consumers," said Young. "We really think that European Union needs to change its approach before it gets to that level." While talking about why the EU is so keen to push the ETS, Young said that there are several motivators, including creating more market for their own goods, making their carbon system much bigger, and forcing more money to flow to Europe. "The other important thing to notice is that the money they collect from the ETS is not required to be used for environmental purposes," Young said. "A lot of countries in Europe have significant budget problems, debt crisis or monetary problems. We believe many governments may choose to use these money for their budget, for their general fund." Despite widespread opposition, the European Union holds firm. European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas said last week that while the EU is willing to negotiate over how ETS applies to airlines outside Europe, it will only do so only on its own terms and is in no hurry to give ground. "We are serious in negotiating a solution," Kallas told the Singapore Airshow's Aviation Leadership Summit. "If (non-EU members) say nothing will happen until you suspend the ETS and ( only) then start negotiations, that is unacceptable." Nations opposing the ETS will meet this week in Moscow to debate an array of countermeasures. The so-called "coalition of the unwilling" -- bringing together 26 nations -- has held a series of meetings.