The European Commission is considering fining and even barring from European airports, ten Chinese and two Indian airlines that are yet to comply with rules aimed at regulating emissions. The fines are not going to be large in any event but this is a warning message. The carriers have not provided emissions data to the EU by the deadline. The volumes of carbon dioxide that the European Commission said the ten carriers emitted in Europe last year was comparable to the emissions from burning about 130 rail cars of coal.
The European Commission confirmed that during the first year of emissions responsibility, in accordance with the provisions of the "stop the clock" decision, aircraft operators may limit their responsibility for 2012 to flights within Europe only, in which case they may also take a further step by 27 May to return free allocations for flights outside Europe. It also stated that “All cases of non-compliance will be examined by the competent authorities of the responsible Member States in accordance with established procedures.”
The message is clear. China, India and others can tell their airlines not to comply with the EU ETS but at the end of the day it is EU airspace and they can bar airlines from flying in. Airlines across the globe are being caught out now as they were under the impression that this was a government-to-government issue. Home governments outside of the EU might have given that impression with threats of trade wars etc but in fact the EU has always stated that this is an airline issue. The Indian government told Air India and Jet Airways not to file any data to the EU on carbon emissions, now they face a fine and a possible ban.
The EU ETS is a mess and it does little to cut carbon emissions. The fact is the 192-member countries of the UN need to get their act in gear fast as carbon dioxide is currently topping 400ppm on the Hawaiian Mauna Loa scale (the best measure). This means that the rate of increase is now 2.1ppm per annum, three times faster than the 1960s. This news I am afraid all but confirms that we will not be able to keep global warming below 2 degrees C and at current rates we will hit 450ppm by 2037. So we are in real serious trouble. We need to start lobbying to have any aviation emission scheme channelled into R&D for low emission technology, as does power generation and shipping. Governments cannot keep throwing the money into a budgetary hole and then lambast transportation which keeps the tax receipts and the global economy flowing. I hope that at Paris next month senior aviation figures will be brave enough to bring this issue to the fore in simple but strong terms for the masses.
Meanwhile – Beware all lessors, remarketers and suppliers: The US government yesterday blacklisted Syrian Arab Airlines – deal with them at your peril.