Sharp reaction from IATA on European Parliament vote to include aviation in ETS
Following today’s vote in the European Parliament to include commercial aviation in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged the European Union “to get its priorities in the right order and focus on practical steps to help reduce aviation’s CO2 emissions”.
Said IATA Director General, Giovanni Bisignani: “Europe is single-mindedly pursuing a political agenda of emissions trading that does nothing to improve environmental performance. I don’t see the European Parliament planting many trees, but somehow they have got lost in the woods. Today’s vote continues the tradition of hot air and no action.
“Europe’s go-it-alone approach on emissions trading is counterproductive. Regional schemes will have, at best, limited impact on the environment. And their unilateral application to foreign airlines is a clear breach of the Chicago Convention. The resulting trade and legal battles will distract governments from making real progress.”
IATA’s 240-member airlines recently set out their own “four-pillar” strategy to reduce airline carbon emissions (see separate story).
