Subcommittee Chair Calls The Carbon Trading Plan A "Violation
Of U.S. Sovereignty"
The House Transportation and Infrastructure committee late last
week passed H.R. 2594, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme
Prohibition Act of 2011. Committee leadership calls the bill a
strong bipartisan response to EU plans to impose a costly fee on
any civil aviation operators landing in or departing from EU
airports.
Under the scheme, flights into or out of an EU airport,
regardless of how long that flight is in EU airspace, would be
subject to the program’s emissions cap and trade
requirements. U.S. airlines would be required to pay an emissions
tax to the EU Member State to which they most frequently fly,
without any requirements that EU countries even use these fees in
emissions reduction efforts. It is scheduled to go into effect
January 1, 2012.
The United States Government and Congress have objected to the
forced participation in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme
(ETS). The bill was introduced by Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL), Transportation Committee
Ranking Member Nick J. Rahall (D-WV), Aviation Subcommittee
Chairman Tom Petri (R-WI), Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member
Jerry Costello (D-IL), and other Members of Congress.
H.R. 2594 directs the Secretary of Transportation to prohibit
U.S. aircraft operators from participating in the ETS. The bill
also instructs U.S. officials to negotiate or take any action
necessary to ensure U.S. aviation operators are not penalized by
any unilaterally imposed EU scheme. “The European
Union’s inclusion of international civil aviation in its
emissions trading scheme, including all segments of the flight
whether in EU Member airspace or not, is a violation of U.S.
sovereignty and international law,” said Petri.
“Aviation is a global industry and demands global solutions,
not unilateral action that amounts to nothing more than a
cash-grab.”
“The unilateral imposition of the ETS is a clear violation
of international law. We want to let the European Union know that
we are not going to support this scheme and that we want a positive
outcome by working with the international community,” said
Mica.
The move drew a favorable response from the NBAA. "We appreciate
the strong, united message this proposed legislation sends to the
EU against the imposition of a new carbon tax on companies based
outside its borders," said President and CEO Ed Bolen in a
statement.
Bolen reiterated NBAA's position that international standards
governing civil aviation should be enacted by the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). "Emissions policies, like all
other matters pertaining to civil aviation, should be decided by
the body that was created for that very purpose," he said.
"General aviation aircraft are cleaner, quieter and more
fuel-efficient than ever before," Bolen noted. "The industry
continues its decades-long effort to minimize its carbon footprint
and NBAA welcomes both technological and operational advances that
reduce emissions through the achievement of greater
efficiencies."