IATA says travellers, businesses will pay price for EU ETS revision

IATA said that it’s “deeply frustrated” by the proposed extension of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) beyond Europe’s borders — an approach, the association said “was discredited over a decade ago.”

In its statement, IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh said that: “The EU is repeating a historic error. The consequences will be harmful — sowing acrimony over extraterritoriality, slowing global decarbonization, and sapping European competitiveness — with European travellers and businesses paying the price.

The global airline industry association’s boss continued: “Instead of expanding the EU ETS beyond Europe’s borders, the EU should focus on making CORSIA — the agreed global mechanism — even more successful.”

He also argued that increasing SAF allowances and enabling a book-and-claim system for SAF could be promising steps, but the details are critical to success.

And Walsh concluded: “We will engage with European policy makers towards a more effective approach with no extraterritoriality, full support for CORSIA, and effective SAF incentives,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Go to www.iata.org for more.