Posted by Stewart Wilkinson, Partner
On 1 September 2016 Withy King LLP merged with Royds LLP. The trading name for the merged firm is Royds Withy King. All content produced prior to this date will remain in the name of the firms pre-merger.
Aviation and airline groups resisting EU carbon proposals
The media is carrying a number of reports about how a number of leading European aviation companies (including Airbus, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Air Berlin and Iberia) have warned that EU plans to charge airlines for carbon pollution will affect jobs and trade deals with China.
The focus of concern is the European Union’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) for carbon dioxide and the possibility of trade struggles with China, the US and Russia.
Airbus argues that the proposals would reduce competitiveness and wants the scheme to be postponed until a global plan on airline carbon emissions is agreed. There are concerns that charges would be due even when flying outside European airspace. There are indications that Chinese airlines are delaying decisions to buy planes because of concerns over the plans.
The EU ETS is one of the policies introduced across the European Union (EU) to help it meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. The EU has to make an eight per cent reduction on 1990 levels by the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period (2008 – 2012). But note that aviation activities are excluded from the “How to Comply with your Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permit” guide there.
If you have comments on this blog please contact Stewart Wilkinson, Head of Dispute Resolution and Airlines Group on 020 7583 2222 or sbw@royds.com