AACO warns against 'tit-for-tat' emissions schemes

Arab Air Carriers Org. Secretary General Abdul Wahab Teffaha estimated that inclusion of aviation in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme will cost his member airlines around €200 million ($281.6 million) in 2012, the first year that carriers are scheduled to be included.

"This is a conservative estimate and covers only the cost of offsetting the emissions. It does not include the expenditure needed to implement the systems to comply with the rules," Teffaha told ATWOnline during the SITA Air Transport IT Summit in Cannes this week.

AACO is continuing to push for a global approach as outlined by ICAO and IATA. Beyond the EU ETS, Teffaha warned that proliferation of similar initiatives in other countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the US, could lead to a "patchwork of all different ETSs."

He added he has "heard" that some countries in the Middle East are contemplating similar schemes, although he could not confirm the existence of such plans, and stressed that he does not support a "tit-for-tat approach," explaining, "I argue that it would be positive for our carriers if the Middle East remains a region without an ETS. ETS adds costs."