MEPs deplore delay to aviation plan

MEPs and green campaigners have criticised moves by member states to delay the introduction of aviation into the emissions trading scheme (ETS) by one year.

Next week (20 December) environment ministers are expected to agree that aviation be brought into the scheme from 2012, one year later than the European Commission proposed. Aviation accounts for 3% of the EU’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gases.

Caroline Lucas, a British Green MEP, said that the delay was very disappointing. "It utterly undermines everything that the EU says about climate change leadership and sends a sign that the EU is not taking action," she said.

The Portuguese presidency is sticking to the two-phase approach of earlier proposals, but has shifted back the dates. Under its compromise plan, from 2012 all intra-EU flights would be under the scheme, which from 2013 would be extended to cover all flights arriving and departing from EU airports.

A Portuguese spokes-man said that "the presidency has had to tread a very narrow line here". A majority of member states would like to start even later than 2012, according to minutes from a meeting of national representatives that took place on 5 December. But a handful of countries, including Sweden and the UK, want a start date that is earlier than 2012.

Most new member states favour a delayed start of 2013 or after, but seem ready to compromise on 2012. A Lithuanian official said her government favoured a 2013 start, citing problems that Lithuania has had in transposing and enforcing laws under the current ETS. She added that beginning in 2013 would be advisable, because this is when the third phase of the revised ETS begins.

João Vieira, a policy officer at T&E, a campaign group, rejected the argument of timing the start of aviation’s inclusion in the scheme and the third ETS phase together. "If the only reason is that it makes it easier, then there wouldn’t be any point in having this directive", he said, adding that "we really believe it is not a good idea to postpone once again a sector that has not been doing anything."

The outcome of next week’s ministerial meeting looks set to spark a legislative war between the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. In November, MEPs backed an approach that was significantly tougher than the Commission’s original proposal and the directive will come back to Parliament early next year for a second reading.

• A proposal from the Commission to punish those carmakers that do not meet targets to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions went into inter-departmental consultation on Monday (10 December), prior to its publication on 19 December. As reported in last week’s European Voice, the Commission has been exploring fines in a range between €10 per gram and €150 per gram.

MEPs and green campaigners have criticised moves by member states to delay the introduction of aviation into the emissions trading scheme (ETS) by one year.