MEPs fail to back tough action on aviation and climate change

EU plans to tackle aviation's increasing climate change impacts through the Emissions Trading Scheme remain inadequate after MEPs failed to significantly strengthen European Commission proposals in Strasbourg earlier today (13 November). Aviation is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide in Europe, and failure to cut it will seriously jeopardise EU plans to cut European emissions by 30 per cent by 2020.

Although the EU Parliament voted to strengthen European Commission plans to bring air travel into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), they failed to back tougher amendments that could have led to the scheme having a significant impact on aviation's rising emissions.

Friends of the Earth Europe's aviation campaigner, Richard Dyer said:

"The European Parliament has failed to back proposals to significantly cut aviation's impact on climate change. Instead of getting tough on aviation, MEPs have only voted for modest improvements to Commission plans to make aviation part of the ETS. This is inadequate and threatens EU targets for cutting emissions. It's time our politicians showed real leadership on global warming."

MEPs voted for the following:

• 25 percent of emissions permits to be auctioned with option to increase later (Friends of the Earth and other NGOs wanted 100 percent from the start of the scheme)
• 2011 start date for all flights (NGOs wanted 2010)
• Pollution permits to be 'capped' at 90 percent of aviation carbon dioxide emissions [based on the average of 2004-6 emissions] (NGOs wanted a 50 percent cap).
• A multiplier of at least two, to be used to compensate for the additional impacts of emissions from aircraft at altitude; (NGOs wanted this)
• Exemption from the ETS for planes weighing less than 20,000kg, like many business jets (NGOs wanted no exemptions)

Earlier this year a report by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change at Manchester University, commissioned by Friends of the Earth, revealed that current EU proposals would make little difference to the future growth in aviation emissions, and that the plans should beconsiderably strengthened. Friends of the Earth Europe insists that other measures are also
required to tackle the growth in aviation's impact on climate change, such as a tax on aviation fuel.

"National government must also take action on aviation emissions. They must freeze airport expansion plans, improve high-speed rail services and do more to make the cost of flying reflect the damage that it causes to our environment," Mr Dyer added.

The current aviation/ EU ETS plan is the first piece of new climate legislation since EU Ministers agreed that the EU needs to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2020 in order to avoid catastrophic climate change. A strong scheme would send a clear signal that the EU means business in the run up to the UNFCCC talks taking place in Bali this December.

Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and just societies and for the protection of the environment, unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.