Qantas takes aim at green taxes

Qantas, Australia’s national airline, has backed a call by international airlines for an immediate review of fare-boosting environmental schemes and taxes in the wake of an historic global agreement on aviation emissions. Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce warned Australia against going it alone on a carbon tax, arguing that regions or countries introducing carbon taxes or emissions trading schemes would distort the aviation industry. Joyce said the issue needed a global approach which should include more government support for sustainable fuels. His comments came as a resolution agreed upon last week by 190 governments belonging to the U.N.-backed International Civil Aviation Organization that called for the development of a global, market-based system with principles that member states could use to address aviation emissions. (October 15, 2010)