MEPs agree to extend plane emissions opt-out for international carriers flying to and from Europe... to the fury of green campaigners.

Flying with a light footprint

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/11784935/n001-140403-001-en.srt

The convenience of flight.  No destination too far. Price no object.

The cost? Well, a different story,  especially for the environment.

Aviation emissions amount to around 5%  of total global CO2 emissions,

which the EU wants to curb,  bringing intercontinental airlines

flying into and out of Europe  into the Emissions Trading System.

But MEPs' efforts to include them collapsed  after intense lobbying,

tough talks with Member States,  and polarised views in the house.

From the beginning, the inclusion of  aviation in the EU system was a stupid idea.

It was nothing more  than a tax on an industry

that supports over 5 million jobs  across Europe.

Europe’s aviation emissions reduction  programme is the only one around.

Under the compromises,  the exemption for inter-continental carriers

The pressure if off  and we know Europe has lost.

What promised to be tight after a dead heat  in committee, was in the end comfortable.

The MEP who steered the process  says he’s optimistic but firm.

No more exemption,  stop the clock as it’s known, after 2016.

What do representatives  of competing organisations

that were doing a lot of the pre-vote  lobbying make of it all? First the industry.

The Emissions Trading System  is probably not that popular.

We need to have international backing  for the measures,

whatever it is,  and that’s why it’s difficult.

Because this is typically a unilateral  imposition from a particular country

or a group of countries vis-à-vis the rest  of the world and that will never work.

Next, a group campaigning  for greener transport systems.

It’s good to put it in a little bit of context.

All it does is in the end is put a few cents,  two or three cents, on a litre of kerosene.

So in comparison with the enormous  tax breaks the sector is enjoying,

they don’t pay any tax on fuel,  they don’t pay any VAT on airline tickets,

it’s really a very modest attempt  to rectify that balance a bit.

Aviation emissions will be back  in the spotlight in 2015

when the next big UN conference  on Climate Change takes place in Paris.