Governments of more than 20 countries—including the US, China, Russia, India and Brazil—have agreed on a joint declaration opposing the inclusion of aviation in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) starting in 2012, India Ministry of Civil Aviation joint secretary Prashant Sukul confirmed to ATW at the World Route Development Forum in Berlin.
Three more countries have agreed on the content but still need to complete "internal administrative processes" before officially signing the declaration, he said. The contents of the joint declaration were agreed to at a two-day meeting organized by the Indian government last week in New Delhi.
The joint statement voices opposition to the EU's "unilateral imposition" of the ETS on aviation, asserting that it is "inconsistent with applicable international law" and the Chicago Convention, and calls on the "EU and its member states to refrain from including flights by non-EU carriers to and from an airport in the EU in its emission trading system."
Sukul said that India sent a draft demarche, an official protest conveying concern, to the EU Friday evening. "Now we wait and based on their reaction, we will take action," he said. “We asked them [EU] to go back to their member states and consult on the matter. We told them already in May that market-based measures, such as charging [for] emissions on routes to/from India [and Europe], should be discussed and agreed upon on a bilateral basis and included in bilateral agreements." A global agreement on the ICAO level is the other—and preferred—way to address carbon dioxide emissions from aviation, he said.
Sukul said the Indian government will reopen its bilateral air services agreements with EU member states if the EU does not retract its plans to unilaterally include all flights by Indian carriers to/from EU airports in the ETS. If that were to occur, "everything will be discussed, and yes, it seems normal that traffic rights will come into play," he said, noting that EU carriers deploy more capacity than Indian airlines on routes between India and the EU.
Source : ATWonline.com
Three more countries have agreed on the content but still need to complete "internal administrative processes" before officially signing the declaration, he said. The contents of the joint declaration were agreed to at a two-day meeting organized by the Indian government last week in New Delhi.
The joint statement voices opposition to the EU's "unilateral imposition" of the ETS on aviation, asserting that it is "inconsistent with applicable international law" and the Chicago Convention, and calls on the "EU and its member states to refrain from including flights by non-EU carriers to and from an airport in the EU in its emission trading system."
Sukul said that India sent a draft demarche, an official protest conveying concern, to the EU Friday evening. "Now we wait and based on their reaction, we will take action," he said. “We asked them [EU] to go back to their member states and consult on the matter. We told them already in May that market-based measures, such as charging [for] emissions on routes to/from India [and Europe], should be discussed and agreed upon on a bilateral basis and included in bilateral agreements." A global agreement on the ICAO level is the other—and preferred—way to address carbon dioxide emissions from aviation, he said.
Sukul said the Indian government will reopen its bilateral air services agreements with EU member states if the EU does not retract its plans to unilaterally include all flights by Indian carriers to/from EU airports in the ETS. If that were to occur, "everything will be discussed, and yes, it seems normal that traffic rights will come into play," he said, noting that EU carriers deploy more capacity than Indian airlines on routes between India and the EU.
Source : ATWonline.com
