Airline association slams EU emissions trading plan

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has warned the EU that imposing emissions trading on airlines flying through Europe has no chance of succeeding, reports the Guardian.

"The scheme has no chance. It is difficult to imagine 136 countries agreeing with something that is illegal. Why are we wasting so much time instead of building a global, harmonised emissions trading scheme?" said Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the global trade body for commercial carriers.

Meanwhile the CEO of easyJet, Andy Harrison, writing in the last issue of the Parliament Magazine, urged the EU to be very careful about the inclusion of airlines into the ETS.

"The ETS must be seen as a trading mechanism that incentivises airlines to become greener and not a punitive tax on an industry that brings enormous social and economic benefits to the people of Europe," he writes.

Harrison's full article can be viewed here.

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