Lawyers acting for European Union states have begun their defense of the application of its emissions trading scheme (ETS) to non-European airlines in response to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Air Transport Association (ATA). The hearing began at the European Court of Justice on July 5, but the court’s advocate general is not expected to deliver an initial ruling until October 6–less than three months before ETS goes into full effect for aircraft operators on Jan. 1, 2012. The initial ruling will be followed by a later final judgment.
The European legal team has firmly rebuffed ATA’s contention that airline emissions can be regulated only through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and that the scheme amounts to a unilateral tax. Attorneys representing the UK in the hearing pointed to established case law relating to the application of safety restrictions to non-EU truck drivers operating into the EU. Lawyers also highlighted precedent involving rules governing foreign oil tankers in the EU.
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