Hands Out About One Percent Of Allowed Credits To Three Airlines

The British government has begun issuing carbon credits to airlines in anticipation of the full implementation of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). So far, it has haded out 4.9 million credits to three carriers, or about one percent of the number of credits it is allowed.

In a statement, the Department of Energy and Climate Change said the UK was the first country out of all the Member States to start issuing its aviation allowances. The first free allowances were allocated on Tuesday, February  28. These were issued to those aircraft operators covered by the EU ETS that had completed the registry account opening process and therefore were able to receive their allowances for 2012.

A total of 4,965,892 allowances have been issued to 3 of the airlines that the UK regulates. A full list of those airlines that the UK regulates is available on the department's website. The EU DECC says there is nothing holding up the issuing of free allowances. As soon as aircraft operators complete the registry account opening process, they will be able to receive their allowances.

The total number of allowances that the UK is expected to allocate in 2012 is 56,737,146. The UK will continue to issue allowances to those aircraft operators that open their registry accounts.

Reuters reports that the UK regulates more than 230 airlines. Some of the larger British-flagged airlines, such as British Airways, have not yet completed the registration process. BA is expected to receive as much as 18 percent of the country's allowed permits.

FMI: www.decc.gov.uk/en