Iata lambastes EU over emissions policy

THE INTERNATIONAL Air Transport Association (Iata) has urged the European Union (EU) to get its priorities in the right order and focus on practical steps to help reduce aviation’s CO2 emissions. This statement followed last week’s vote in the European Parliament on including aviation in the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS). “Climate change is a serious problem and hypocrisy is not the answer,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Iata’s CEO. “We could be saving 12-million tonnes of CO2 annually with an effective single European sky. “Instead of making that a reality, Europe is single-mindedly pursuing a political agenda of emissions trading that does nothing to improve environmental performance. I don’t see the European Parliament planting many trees, but somehow they have got lost in the woods. “With fuel making up 28% of operating costs, airlines have a US$132-billion economic incentive to reduce fuel burn and CO2 emissions. We are 2% of global CO2 emissions and we have a clear strategy to address this. Our goal is to achieve carbon neutral growth leading to a carbon-free future. This sets a benchmark on environmental performance for other industries to follow.”