UK: Reduce Exhaust Emissions or Pay

The UK intends to push for carbon dioxide emission trading for aviation while it holds the office of presidency of the European Union for six months, beginning July 1. Jill Adam of the UK’s DOT told a business aviation convention last month in Geneva that the aviation community, including business aviation, must own up to its responsibilities. “In other words, the polluter pays,” she said. Statistics purportedly indicate that air traffic might account for 35 percent of the UK’s climate change effects by 2050. One consequence of emissions trading is that operators flying older aircraft with higher emissions might need to buy emission credits from those operators with more efficient aircraft.