Emissions Trading Scheme comes under fire in EU

The Emissions Trading Scheme continues to come under fire.

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) is trying to get the EU to suspend its implantation of the program, designed to monitor and cut carbon emissions. TIACA says that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), launched in 2005, is inefficient and will drive up air freight costs.

TIACA is instead trying to get the European Union to go after a carbon emissions agreement with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In a letter to the EU’s Climate Action Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, TIACA sent over a four-point list of why the new schemes implemented in the program in 2012 will hurt air freight companies.

TIACA is arguing that the Emissions Trading Scheme is in violation of international law and treaties, that the program will impose massive new taxes on aviation, that the program is unlikely to improve the environment and that the ETS ignores the essential global nature of aviation.

Vice Chairman of TIACA Oliver Evans strongly believes in that last point.

“A better way forward is to take a global approach,” Evans argued. “We firmly believe that aviation emissions must be addressed through a global framework and that the appropriate body for developing such an approach is the International Civil Aviation Organization.”

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TIACA Chairman Michael Steen believes that the European Union can’t afford to strictly monitor such a vital portion of the global supply chain.

“Air cargo is a mature and responsible industry that plays an indispensible role in world commerce,” Steen said. “We sincerely hope the Commissioner will take on board our strong views and the alternative way forward proposed by our industry.”

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