For Middle Eastern aircraft operators that make even a handful of short flights into European airspace, there's no escaping the countdown to the European Union's contentious emissions trading scheme (ETS). The carbon credits scheme goes into full effect just over a year from now on Jan. 1, 2012, but many operators have been battling with the preparatory bureaucracy for more than a year and those who have not yet made a start may have to scramble to be ready to meet requirements that cannot be dodged without facing stiff penalties.
Yet, with less than four months to go before the March 31 deadline for aircraft operators to submit independently verified emissions reports for the EU-ETS, there is still widespread confusion as to how the verification process will work for many in the business aviation sector. European authorities continue to be slow in approving the independent verification companies needed to complete the task and the industry is still awaiting a final European Commission ruling as to whether costly site visits will be required to complete verification for the so-called small-emitters (currently defined as those emitting less than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year).
