Asia Tells Europe to Back Down on ETS or Face Consequences
Singapore Air Show » February 14, 2012 By Neelam Mathews Asian air transport industry leaders yesterday signaled European Commission vice president Siim Kallas that they will step up their war against the European Union’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). But Kallas held firm, telling the Singapore Airshow’s Aviation Leadership Summit that while the EU is willing to negotiate over how ETS applies to airlines outside Europe, it will only do so only on its own terms and is in no hurry to give ground. Kallas addressed the conference barely a week after the Chinese government banned its airlines from complying with ETS. Legislation currently moving through the U.S. Congress would have the same effect. What isn’t clear is how the EU would respond to a widespread refusal to comply with ETS. Its regulations call for punitive fines against operators who fail to account for their carbon emissions and pay for them with credits. China and the U.S., which have been leading the charge agains...