The United States accused the European Union on Wednesday of violating a newly signed "open skies" aviation agreement by proposing to include international airlines in the EU emissions trading scheme from 2012.
The scheme, aimed at fighting climate change, already applies to industrial greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. But the Bush administration has systematically resisted pressure to limit or trade emissions.
Requiring all flights to and from the EU to hold emissions permits breaches "numerous bilateral agreements including the one just signed between the EU and the United States," said Andrew Steinberg, Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at the US Department of Transport.
The two sides agreed a wide-ranging pact earlier this year meant to open transatlantic air travel to more competition by allowing EU and US airlines to fly from any city in the 27-nation bloc to any US city and vice versa.
Steinberg said the pact, along with the 1944 international aviation accord known as the Chicago Convention, prevented countries from levying charges on foreign airlines that were not rendered in exchange for a service, such as landing fees.
The charges associated with buying permits to emit carbon dioxide (CO2) - the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming - would not be levied for a service and therefore violated the EU's international commitments, he said.
Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea and the United States had sent a joint letter to Germany, holder of the EU's rotating presidency, outlining their concerns, Steinberg said. "The EU proposal is intent on bypassing the concerns of the rest of the world," he told a European Parliament hearing.
The EU scheme, which currently does not cover aviation, is the bloc's key tool to achieve cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases agreed under the Kyoto Protocol.
It sets limits on the amount of CO2 that big industries can emit and allows companies to buy or sell emissions permits depending on whether they exceed or undercut their limits. The executive European Commission has proposed that intra-EU flights be included in the scheme from 2011, and international flights from 2012.
"We hope to demonstrate the system can work," said Marianne Klingbeil of the Commission's environment directorate. "By starting (foreign flights) one year later, we sent a signal to other states on the planet - we show you for one year that we take the burden on our shoulders."
The Commission has said its scheme is compatible with international law. Steinberg said he was "struck by the oddness of requiring foreign airlines to buy permits from other EU industrial sectors" and found it unacceptable to have Europe be a "judge on what is satisfactory on emissions by other sovereign states."
Washington has spoken out against the move repeatedly since the Commission unveiled its draft proposal last December. The parliament must agree on the proposal with EU governments before it can become law. It is expected to vote on its own version of the Commission's proposal in November.