Political pressure against the application of the European Union’s emissions trading scheme to non-European aircraft operators has intensified, with bipartisan support in the U.S. for legislation that would make it illegal for U.S. operators to comply with ETS. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011 would require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to ensure that U.S. operators do not participate in ETS. But it remains unclear whether both the House of Representatives and the Senate can pass the measure in time for it to become law by Jan. 1, 2012, when ETS goes into full force. The bill would also require U.S. officials to come to the aid of U.S. operators who might find themselves subject to fines for not complying with the demands of European officials.
Senior officials from the U.S. Transportation Department, FAA and the State Department attended a July 25 House of Representatives Transportation Committee hearing, perhaps signaling support for the proposed bill’s aims in the Obama Administration. There is already talk of the U.S. filing a separate protest over ETS with the World Trade Organization, which rules on alleged anti-competitive behavior.
