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A vision of the future for greenhouse-gas (GHG) regulation in international shipping over the next few years might be playing out in international aviation right now - and it is not a pretty sight.
Airlines, governments, peak industry bodies and environmental groups around the world have weighed into a fight over the European Union’s plans to bring the aviation sector into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) next year. Under the plan, all internal and international flights to and from EU airports will be covered, requiring airlines to hand over emissions permits for every tonne of CO2 emitted during operation, much the same way as land-based emitting industries have had to do under the scheme since 2005.
The European Commission in Brussels initiated the move because it believes the aviation sector must do its part among heavy-emitting industries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The EU has an overall target to decrease emissions at least 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020.
Brussels holds the same view about shipping and a similar regulatory move is expected to be announced early next year if no global maritime CO2 emissions reduction programme is agreed by the IMO or the UN climate change convention, the UNFCCC, by the end of the year. Any programme have to involve substantial reductions along the lines of the market-based measures on the table in front of IMO’s environment committee. But agreement on any such measure is highly unlikely this year. If Brussels does decide to implement its own regional emissions regime on shipping, it would likely take the form of an emissions cap and trade scheme, and the simplest solution would be inclusion of the maritime sector too in the existing EU-ETS, from as early as 2013.
Complete Story at:
http://www.carbonpositive.net/viewarticle.aspx?articleID=2324
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