Air NZ under pressure from EU to reduce emissions

Air New Zealand is among thousands of operators which must join the European Union’s (EU) emission trading scheme by 2012 or face penalties flying there. The union has released a list of 4,000 airlines and planemakers which must first submit a strategy for reducing their emissions by January 2010. The bloc adopted legislation in January that requires aviation emissions to be reduced by 3% on 2005 levels by 2012 and 5% by 2013. “The EU has taken a very autocratic approach, dictating to the market how things will be, certainly not a consultative approach as in other jurisdictions,” said Rob Fyfe, Air New Zealand’s chief executive. The policy has been heavily criticized by the International Air Transport Association which says it is particularly unfair to penalize non-EU airlines. (August 31, 2009)