More expensive air tickets? "BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. airlines have stepped up the pressure on EU countries not to impose fines for alleged breaches of emissions rules in the latest twist to an international row over aircraft pollution. The warning coincided with a deadline on Thursday for European Union nations to start enforcing rules covering 2012 emissions that could lead to fines of millions of euros against aircraft operators. U.S. airline association A4A said it was calling on the European Commission, the EU executive, and its member states for clarity that there would be no penalties. "We and various aviation stakeholders continue to push for a clear statement of relief from the application of the pending deadlines," it said. The next deadline for operators is the end of March, when they should report data for 2013 emissions. Such a statement, A4A added, would avoid any need to invoke blocking law agreed by the United States, which it can use to shelter U.S. operators from compliance with the EU rules. Details of airlines that have not complied for 2012 emissions are sketchy and many of the companies are small private jets on lists of Commission data seen by Reuters. The European Commission says most airlines, covering 98 percent of emissions, have complied and it relies on member states to punish those that have not. It can take EU nations to court if they fail to enforce EU law. Thomson Reuters Point Carbon analyst Emil Dimantchev calculated total fines owing could be as much as 39 million euros ($54 million) on the basis of an allowance price of 7.5 euros per tonne on the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). By far the biggest fine would fall to Italian airline Blue Panorama, which filed forbankruptcy protection in 2012, adding to the problems for EU nations in trying to enforce their law. A spokesman for Blue Panorama said the company disputed the "unfair and unreasonable" penalty because the bankruptcy procedure had prevented it from fully complying. Under EU rules, the penalty is 100 euros per tonne of emissions for which an operator failed to submit carbon allowances, plus they have to buy permits to make up for the shortfall. Britain says it has agreed to go ahead with enforcement of the law from Feb. 20, but it wants consistency across the European Union. A spokeswoman for Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change said it was continuing to follow "as harmonised an approach as possible to enforcement for 2012 emissions". Following a closed-door meeting of member states on the issue, an EU diplomat said on condition of anonymity that there was "a broad consensus among member states and the Commission that EU law needs to be implemented"." http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/20/eu-aviation-idUKL6N0LP1ZW20140220 "The Commission has launched legal proceedings against the UK for its failure to cut excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas. Nitrogen dioxide is the main pre-cursor for ground-level ozone causing major respiratory problems and leading to premature death. City-dwellers are particularly exposed, as most nitrogen dioxide originates in traffic fumes. European legislation sets limits on air pollution and the NOx limits should have been achieved by 1 January 2010 unless an extension was granted until 1 January 2015." http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-154_en.htm
