European Commission backs down over aviation emissions

[LONDON] The European Commission has urged the bloc's Parliament to exempt international flights from paying for their carbon emissions on Wednesday, retreating from its own proposal on the eve of a binding vote amid pressure from national governments.

In a late night debate in the Brussels parliamentary chamber, Europe's climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard told members to back a weakened compromise rather than her own agency's proposal to regulate the portion of international flights over EU territory. "Without doubt the Commission would of course have preferred and fought for a higher level of ambition . . . It would've been better for Europe's self respect and reputation and even more important, for the climate. But we are where we are," said Ms Hedegaard.

In 2012, the European Union started charging all airlines for emissions for the full duration of their flights into and out of the bloc via its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) but, after complaints from major economies including the US and China, confined application to domestic EU flights only for one year to give the United Nations time to craft a global alternative.