EU to drop carbon charge for non-EU airlines

Non-EU airlines will not be subject to a carbon charge for now. (Andrew McLaughlin)

The Wall Street Journal reports the European Union has dropped plans to impose a carbon charge on non-EU airlines using its airspace.

The reversal comes in the face of pressure reportedly applied by Airbus and by the governments of France, Germany and the UK where the majority of Airbus’s components are built. Non-EU governments, in particular that of China, had reportedly deferred large Airbus orders in protest over the EU’s emission plans.

The reversal still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament, and the carbon charges will still be applied to flights operated by European airlines through the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EETS). The report also said the charges would be extended to all airlines using EU airspace from 2017 if a global agreement on airlines’ carbon emissions could not be reached by 2017.