One of the hot topics in European climate policy last year was
the inclusion of airlines in the region’s carbon market, the ETS
(Emissions Trading System.) Starting in 2012, the EU aimed to
require airlines to hold permits covering the CO2 emissions of
each flight landing at and taking off from an EU airport. The
issue raised fierce opposition by all major economies in the
world, worried that the plan would be discriminatory and
alleging that the EU was trying to regulate beyond its borders.
But according to a study commissioned by the non-profit group
Transport and Environment, airlines have already raised their
prices to cover the extra cost of buying some of the CO2
permits, even if they have actually not faced any cost yet for
intercontinental flights. Here’s a novel way of looking at the
map of Europe from the renewable energy mavens at the European
Climate Foundation, a Brussels think tank. In a new report, they
argue that an 80% cut in CO2 emissions by 2050 in the European
Union is feasible from 1990 l