Brussels: The European Union agreed on a legal text to suspend for a year a requirement that all airlines using EU airports should pay for their carbon emissions, EU presidential and parliamentary officials said.
International fury at the EU aviation charge led Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard last year to propose a temporary exemption, dubbed “stop the clock” for intercontinental flights.
The legal text was swiftly agreed on Tuesday in talks between the Commission, the European Parliament and Ireland, which as the holder of rotating EU presidency represents member states.
The new law should enter into force by April 30, which was formerly the deadline for all airlines to submit permits to cover flight emissions.
While internal EU flights are still required to use the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to pay for their emissions, Tuesday’s text states the European Union would exempt intercontinental flights. The European Union in 2008 agreed to include all aviation in the EU ETS because of frustration after years of UN talks had failed to find a way to curb airline emissions.
