Airlines
for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading
U.S. airlines, today commended the House of Representatives for
approving the Senate-passed bill, S. 1956, a measure that allows the
Transportation Secretary to direct U.S. airlines not to participate
in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). S.
1956 was approved by unanimous consent in the Senate and by voice
vote in the House, underscoring that Congress recognizes that the EU
ETS violates international law and U.S. sovereignty and is
counterproductive to U.S. airlines’ ongoing efforts to invest in
the technology, operations and infrastructure measures that enhance
fuel efficiency and reduce emissions.
On
Monday, the EU announced it would suspend enforcement of the ETS
while efforts to reach an internationally agreed approach to reduce
emissions continue through the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO). While A4A is cautiously optimistic about
that action, it does not remove the threat of the EU ETS being
implemented at a later date.“The message could not be any clearer -- overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate have spoken: EU ETS violates U.S. sovereignty and will not do what it purports to as the funds do not have to be used for environmental protection,” said A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “There is a better way to improve the environmental efficiency of the airline industry, and U.S.-based carriers are already leading those efforts.”
Calio said A4A strongly supports efforts to gain full agreement on the global framework provisionally adopted by ICAO in 2010. U.S. airlines were among the global aviation leaders in developing this framework, which includes an industry commitment to a 1.5 percent annual average fuel-efficiency improvement through 2020 and carbon neutral growth from 2020 onward, subject to critical investments by industry and governments.
Further, U.S. carriers have made significant investments in alternative fuel research and in fuel-efficient aircraft and operations U.S. airlines improved their fuel efficiency by 120 percent over the past three decades, resulting in emissions savings equivalent to taking more 22 million cars off the road in each of those years. U.S. airlines have also increased traffic while using less fuel.
