July 21 (Reuters) – A European proposal that would impose new carbon costs on some international flights would leave carriers being hit twice, the president of Emirates said on Tuesday, as more airlines lined up behind a single global deal to curb pollution.
The European Commission published proposals on Friday to start applying costs on emissions from international flights departing Europe – measured by a specific point in central Europe – and landing in countries up to 5,000 km (3,100 miles)away.
While the proposal would exclude direct transatlantic flights to the U.S., some flights to the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa would be impacted, starting in 2029 if it is approved.
The proposal has been denounced by the United States and airlines’ trade group IATA, while the UN’s aviation agency warned it would undermine the global CORSIA deal which requires most airlines to offset their rising emissions from international flights.
“This is a double whammy because you know we have CORSIA which is already in place,” Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters at the Farnborough Air Show on Tuesday. “It is supported by the aviation community, and they see it as the way to deal with this particular issue.”
Dubai-based Emirates has already purchased credits supporting rainforests in Guyana to help offset its carbon obligations under the global deal brokered in 2016 by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Airlines for America, a trade group representing U.S. carriers, said on Monday in a statement that it does not support a “fragmented approach” to tax emissions from international aviation.
“Extending the scope to international flights outside of the European region violates international agreements,” A4A added.
A spokesperson for the European Commission declined to comment, citing a public holiday in Belgium.
(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Joanna Plucinska in Farnborough, Additional reporting by Makini Brice in Paris, Editing by William Maclean)
