KEY POINTS:
An airline lobby group says a vote by the European Union Parliament to approve a deal with Governments to start charging for aircraft emissions is the wrong approach at the wrong time.
All airlines flying into and out of the EU, including non-European carriers, would be included as part of the Emission Trading Scheme, and would have to pay for 15 per cent of their emissions permits from 2012.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been nervous about the imposition of the policy for months and yesterday described it as "a punitive tax put in place by politicians who want to paint themselves green" which would cost airlines ¬3.5 billion ($7.29 billion) in the first year.
Air New Zealand flies to London and said it was "reviewing any possible impact" of the move.
Airlines have been left out of Europe's Emission Trading Scheme so far owing to fears it would damage the industry's ability to compete in international markets.
Those with very low traffic levels on routes to, from or within the EU or with low annual emissions (less than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 a year) have been exempted from the scheme.
The European Parliament voted 640 to 30 in favour of making airlines cut emissions of carbon dioxide by 3 per cent in the first year, and by 5 per cent from 2013 onwards.
The vote was the last step to turn the proposals into law and is expected to be approved at one of the next meetings of the European Council.
Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's director-general and chief executive, said airlines were struggling to reduce fuel use to survive. If Europe was serious about the environment, it would accelerate moves to reform air traffic control to reduce delays and cut CO2emissions.
The commission estimates the deal will add between ¬2 and ¬9 to the price of a return flight within the EU. Ryanair said the impact could be as much as ¬50 a flight.
EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas hailed the vote, saying: "Greenhouse gas emissions from international air transport are increasing faster than from any other sector in the EU, and this growth threatens to undermine our overall progress in cutting emissions".
EUROPEAN FEARS
* Emissions from aviation account for about 3 per cent of total EU greenhouse gas emissions, but they are increasing fast - by 87 per cent since 1990, according to EU figures.
* Someone flying from London to New York and back, for example, generates roughly the same amount of emissions as the average person in the EU does by heating a home for a whole year.
* Aviation emissions are likely to more than double from present levels by 2020.
- additional reporting: Reuters
