The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU
ETS) is a market-based approach used to control
pollution for achieving reductions in the
emissions of pollutants, it is the world's
biggest scheme for trading greenhouse gas
emissions allowances. EU ETS was launched in
2005 to combat climate change and is a major
pillar of EU climate policy. It covers power
plants, factories, etc. In January 2012 the EU
ETS was extended to the airline industry.
The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA)
stated in a news release that “Protecting U.S.
airlines and their employees from this harmful
tax has been an extremely high priority for ALPA
because of the scheme’s potential to cost U.S.
airlines $3.1 billion over the next eight years
and threaten airline pilots’ jobs,” said Capt.
Lee Moak, ALPA’s president. “ALPA thanks
Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Claire McCaskill
(D-MO) for their steadfast leadership in
advancing this bill.
Under the aviation tax scheme, flights into or
out of an EU airport, regardless of how long
that flight is in EU airspace, would be subject
to the program’s emissions cap and trade
requirements. U.S. airlines would be required to
pay an emissions tax to the EU Member State to
which they most frequently fly, without any
requirements that EU countries even use these
fees in emissions reduction efforts. The United
States Government and Congress continue to
object to the forced participation in the EU’s
plan.
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