EC aims for aviation ETS in 2010

The European Commission wants the legislation for an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETSEmissions Trading Scheme: Effectively an emissions market where allowances are traded as units of volume e.g. one tonne of carbon dioxide. Participating companies are allocated a number of allowed emissions units of each gas. A company may emit more by purchasing units from the market. Similarly, a company may sell units if they are in excess. The total number of allocation units is fixed and regulated by central and EU government. An ETS imposes a limit on the total emissions according to reduction targets, while allowing companies flexibility. (Source: www.defra.gov.uk)) for aviation in place by 2010, Jos Delbeke, the EC director for air and chemicals, said

Speaking at a forum in Brussels organised by the Belgian Association for Travel Management (BATM) and the Association for Corporate Travel Executives (ACTEAssociation of Corporate Travel Executives: A non-profit association that represents the global business travel industry. It provides executive-level educational programmes and carries out independent industry research. Its members come from all areas of business travel - from corporate buyers to suppliers. Provides members with a forum for sharing ideas and also offers independent advice. ), Mr Delbeke said the EC would be bringing out a paper on ETS and aviation later this month.

He said it was hoped that legislation might be in place by 2010.
Currently aviation accounted for 3% of greenhouse gas emissions but its share had grown by 87% since 1990 and was still increasing rapidly.

But he warned the 80 travel buyers and executives at the meeting that the EC had to take a comprehensive approach.

This included having cleaner technology on aircraft and a “more effective” traffic management system for Europe.

Mr Delbeke said cleaner, modern aircraft engines could save 20% on carbon missions. Experts estimate that up to 14% can be saved through a single European traffic management scheme.

There was also the problem of whether an ETS for aviation should cover just internal European flights which was a third of all air traffic in the EC area.

"The challenge is to cover the other two thirds but we would have difficulty getting an agreement between European aviation and others.

"We are in discussions but non-European airlines are less enthusiastic about it," he said.

Earlier Mr Delbeke said that the EC's ETS for other industries, launched in January 2005, was now monitoring more than 10,000 installations.

The price of carbon which companies using less than their allotted quota could sell was now quoted on the London Stock Exchange and the Paris Bourse.

"We have created a carbon market for all big companies in Europe. It is the largest in the world and we want to make it worldwide," Mr Delbeke said.

He said the under the new quotas agreed until 2012, carbon was priced at €19-20 a ton which made the market worth €20bn a year in 2006. In 2007 he said this would increase to €30bn.