Airline Ticket Prices are set to go up as European Union implements its ETS Scheme on the Airline Industry from 2012.Note EU as a region has been one of the most active players in the climate change arena and has an active carbon emissions market.Though this market has encouraged fraud and profiteering by unscrupulous players making it a good target for the fossil fuel lobby,the principle to fight against global warming is a good one.Compare that to USA,Canada and Japan who have done nothing to fight climate change despite the wealth of these nations.Canada has been guilty of abandoning the Kyoto Plan after missing its previous target.It has faced no penalties as it is not legally enforceable.The country continues down the pollute as much as you can pushing oil extraction from tar sands which is much more dangerous to the environment than normal oil drilling.
Not only have other countries not done anything to curb emissions they have protested against EU as well for imposing carbon emission taxes on airlines.Note airlines are a big carbon emitter and this part can be easily be avoided through use of biofuels and carbon mitigation efforts.However everyone wants a free carbon lunch.In my view it is a great move and other polluting industries everywhere should be made to pay for the global common goods.The voracious use and exploitation of world resources has to stop sometime .
Fast-growing Gulf airlines Emirates andEtihad Airways warned of higher ticket prices on Tuesday as they look to pass on costs of a European Union carbon trading scheme to passengers. Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, Dubai’s flag carrier and the world’s largest long-haul airline, told the Gulf News newspaper that the company would spend over 40 million euros ($51.93 million) in 2012 to purchase additional emission allowances. The EU says the new scheme, which already applies to other industries, is the fairest way to cope with aviation’s contribution to global warming.However, it has sparked a trade spat, with the United States, China, India and others accusing it of infringing their sovereignty.
Chicago Climate Exchange the only USA Exchange to allow trading of Carbon Emission Credits has been shut down by its owner ICE.While I am no fan of Carbon Emissions Cap and Trade Policy as it gives rise to Frauds and Misplaced Incentives,the mechanism is one of the popular subsidy tools in combating Global Climate Change.Note Carbon Cap and Trading was on the Policy Agenda of the Obama Administration,however a deadlock in the Senate prevented any move in 2010.The US has been a huge laggard in the global warming fight and with the Republican Ascendancy following the MidTerm Polls,things are set to stay the same.Despite the BP Oil Spill and Record Global Temperatures,US remains blind to its climate obligations.With US reluctance,the Climate Change has been in Cold Storage with little progress expected in Cancun Meet.