Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
airports will be covered from 2011, with expansion to all international flights
arriving or departing from an EU airport from 2012. This is proposed as a
model for wider, global action (Europa, 2009). The number of permits will be
capped at 97 per cent of 2004-05 emissions levels, which effectively means
an aviation emissions reduction of 3 per cent by 2012. Some 15 per cent of
permits will be auctioned, the remaining 85 per cent being allocated freely
(Duval, 2009). There are potential challenges to the inclusion of aviation
within the EU ETS from the USA and industry. IATA has questioned the legal-
ity of the scheme, and the International Civil Aviation Organization, originally
tasked with implementing emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol,
would prefer an alternative strategy to address operating inefficiencies ahead
of cap and trade (Duval, 2009), also emphasizing the need for international
action (Daley and Preston, 2009). The USA has also threatened legal action
on the basis that the scheme contravenes international trade law (Duval,
2009).
Thus, much remains to be seen about the inclusion of aviation within the
EU ETS. It has implications for tourism travel, although the impact will not
be clear for some time. In the meantime, several studies suggest that the addi-
tional costs passed on to passengers, due to purchase of permits, will be
limited, and there is likely to be negligible impact on volume of air traffic
(Bows et al, 2009a; Gössling, Peeters and Scott, 2008). The scheme is unlikely
to threaten the competitive position of many European airlines (Albers et al,
2009). However, the advent of EU ETS has the potential to 'change the trans-
port landscape from cheap and fast (air transport) to slower and more
expensive' (Peeters, 2007, p21). If a global aviation emissions trading scheme
was to be implemented, with significantly higher costs per ton of CO
2
com-
pared to the EU ETS, then this could have significant implications for global
air travel (Gössling, Peeters and Scott, 2008). Bows et al (2009a) suggest car-
bon prices should be set in the range
€
100-
€
300 per tonne, rather than the
current
€
15-
€
33 per tonne being considered by industry.
Land-based transport
While policy and legislation relating specifically to GHG emissions has been
gathering pace, so too has policy relating to land-based transport. For exam-
ple, the 2001 EU White Paper,
European Transport Policy for 2010: Time to
Decide
(COM, 2001), aimed to revitalize the railways as a viable option for
long-distance travel (Holden, 2007), and significant improvements have been
made to the European rail network in recent years. The EU has also worked
with the European automobile industry, making an agreement in 1998 to
reduce the average CO
2
emissions of new cars in 2008 by 25 per cent (from a
1995 base); however, overall fuel consumption rose during this period by 8.1
per cent, due to increased car travel (Holden, 2007). Subsequently, EU legis-
lation in 2009 set CO
2
emissions standards for new cars (Regulation (EC)
443/2009). The Commission's review of the 2001 Transport White Paper
(COM, 2006) indicates that environmental commitments are an increasing
concern and the EU recognizes the need to integrate climate change into trans-
port policy. Transport is recognized as a threat to achieving progress on Kyoto
