Mots-clés : aviation, CO² et gaz à effet de serre
Beaucoup de promesses pour peu d'effets???
Surrey, UK/Brussels, Belgium - The EU’s long awaited decision to include the aviation sector in its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be an important first step to tackling emissions from aviation. However, a new WWF report shows that the current proposal from the European Commission has one important flaw in it that may actually encourage people to fly more during specific years, without adequately reducing emissions. While WWF supports the concept of the inclusion of aviation in the ETS, we are extremely concerned that only approximately 3 per cent of the emission allowances will actually be auctioned when the sector joins the scheme in 2011, with the other 97 per cent being handed out to airlines for free. The report, which was undertaken for WWF by independent consultants CE Delft, shows that the European Commission’s proposals to hand out free allowances to passenger flights could have a perverse effect. Allocation of allowances will effectively be based on the number of people on flights in the year ending two years before each trading period. So, the scheme could encourage airlines to reduce the price of tickets in this year to increase the number of people taking flights in order for them to get their hands on as many emissions allowances as possible for future trading periods. Aviation is due to join the scheme in 2011 so this could happen next year and then again in 2010 (two years before the start of the 2013-2017 period). In these years, the trading scheme could actually drive up emissions from aviation. However the report also shows that if airlines had to pay for all of their carbon allowances, there would be little or no impact on their profit margins. This approach would deliver greater emissions reductions from the sector itself. Furthermore, WWF estimate that requiring airlines to pay upfront for their allowances could raise between €3.3 and €9.8 billion Euros per year – which could be used to fund the development of low carbon technologies and aid developing countries in adapting to the impacts of climate change. Dr. Stephan Singer, Head of WWF-EPO European Climate and Energy Unit says: “The aviation sector is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions and as such the sector should be paying the full price of carbon. Until this happens, we are essentially subsidising the industry to pollute the planet.” The report also shows that ticket prices for consumers will not rise substantially even if airlines are made to pay for all of their allowances. For example, a return fare from Amsterdam to Paris would increase by less than €2.3-€6.9 and from London to New York would increase by between €19.8-€59.4. WWF recognizes that the recent draft report from the European Parliament on the aviation proposal already calls for a significant improvement to the Commission’s draft by asking for 50% auctioning of all aviation allowances. However, this still falls short of the full auctioning of all industry allowances which would maximize emissions reductions and was proposed by an earlier resolution by the European Parliament. Dr. Stephan Singer adds: “The aviation industry is carping about the impact that including aviation in the scheme would have on its business to try to force the EU to further weaken its timid proposal, but this report clearly shows that including the sector in the ETS and making airlines pay for all of their allowances would have a minimal impact on profit margins. It’s about time that the EU stops allowing itself to be bullied by industry lobby groups and takes the climate impact of aviation seriously.” For further information: Dr. Stephan Singer, Head of European Climate and Energy Unit WWF European Policy Office Tel: +32 496 550 709 E-mail: ssinger@wwfepo.org |
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