Environmental Leader

The European Commission’s Environment Committee is calling for plans to include airlines in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme starting in 2010, Business Green Blog reports.

Originally, the plan was for flights within the EU to be part of the scheme from 2011, with flights in and out of the EU included from 2012.

The Committee, which voted 50 votes to none in favour of the proposals, also called for much stricter emission reduction targets for airlines under the scheme. The Committee is calling for allowances for airlines to be cut to 75 percent of current emissions.

In June, a group of six associations representing European airlines published a study that found airlines would have to spend over $60 billion between 2011 and 2022 buying up credits from more fuel-efficient industries to meet their quotas.

Expect staunch opposition from the airline industry after the International Civil Aviation Organization last week passed a resolution opposing plans to include foreign airlines in the scheme.

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