How will trading in aviation emissions work?
The EU Emissions Trading Scheme, which started on Jan. 1, 2005, currently covers only energy-intensive industrial installations – more than 10,000 of them across Europe – which are collectively responsible for nearly half of total EU CO2 emissions. In the future, air operators will also be covered. Like industrial installations, airlines will receive tradeable allowances to emit a certain level of CO2 per year from their flights. After each year, operators must surrender a number of allowances equal to their actual emissions in that year. The total number of allowances available to airlines in the future will be capped at the average level of emissions in the years 2004-2006.
