If you 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 cap-and-trade scheme goes into effect 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 face a scramble to be ready to meet requirements that cannot be dodged without facing stiff penalties.
Here at NBAA, Universal Weather & Aviation (Booth No. 3927) has made it its business to stay on top of the thorny issue, and its online EU-ETS Reporting Resource Center (www.eu-ets.aero) is a source of information and guidance. The flight planning and support group has been working on plans to start offering direct assistance to operators with the monitoring, reporting and verification process.
“ETS is still totally misfitted to this part of aviation,” said Universal’s regulatory services supervisor Adam Hartley, who has followed developments for the scheme during the past couple of years. He expects to see the European authorities show more leeway on the requirements during the next year, but in his view this gives operators no reason to relax their preparations.
More In Sustainability and Environment
