EasyJet has dismissed demands that Brussels drop plans to include airlines in emissions trading from January.
Europe’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) is the subject of a legal challenge in the European Court of Justice and a bill in the US House of Representatives to outlaw US carriers’ compliance.
British Airways said this week it feared the scheme could collapse. However, easyJet regulatory affairs manager Chris Gadsen told an aviation law conference in London: “The EU needs to stand firm. The emissions trading scheme is a brilliant idea.
“The industry cannot avoid its responsibility. Emissions trading is by far the best way to address climate change and avoid the imposition of something worse. We are confident the scheme is entirely legal.”
Gadsen criticised airline association IATA, which has warned the scheme could cost carriers $1.2 billion (£760 million) in the first year. He said: “For years, IATA took the view that climate change was not a problem. Now suddenly it talks about a 50% cut in emissions.”
Gadsen said the extra cost, even on a long-haul flight, would be about €10 (£8.70). “A fuel-price rise can add that much in a day,” he said. “Per flight, per passenger, it will not be a lot of money. It just sounds a lot when you add it up.
“Air Passenger Duty is going up in the UK. We have an aviation tax in Germany. Tax costs a lot more than emissions trading.” Gadsen was speaking at the Butterworths Aviation Law and Policy Conference in London.