European aviation groups offered cautious support for an emissions trading scheme (ETS) for airlines on Monday but called for impact assessments to ensure that any steps taken are fair and effective.
"The aviation industry is committed to pursuing every effort to minimise its environmental impact through research, technological progress and operational measures," said a joint statement from the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and six other aviation-related bodies.
"A well-designed ETS would be far more cost-efficient and environmentally effective than taxes and charges," it said. The statement underscored the need for thorough studies beforehand to assess the impact of such a scheme.
"It is unreasonable for it (the industry) to accept any ETS that has not been rigorously assessed for its impact both on business and on the environment," said ERA Director General Mike Ambrose. The aviation groups said they supported a world-wide approach to emissions trading that was co-ordinated by the Montreal-headquartered International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and introduced as soon as possible.
However, if unilateral action is taken by the European Union (EU), an emissions trading scheme would then have to be co-ordinated across the EU rather than at the individual state level, they said.
"The scheme must be designed to be introduced without distorting international competition or imposing unreasonable cost burdens on air operators. All operators on all routes covered by the scheme should therefore be treated equally," the statement said. It added that a trading scheme applied to civil aviation should be open, allowing trading with other sectors, and that it should focus solely on carbon dioxide emissions.
"Emissions of NOx (nitrogen oxide) are already being effectively managed by international standards set by ICAO," it said. The statement was endorsed by the ERA, the Association of European Airlines, the European Low Fare Airlines Association, the International Air Carrier Association, the Aerospace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, the European Cargo Alliance and the European Business Aviation Association.