Reuters Article 19 Sept 2011 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/19/us-trade-airlines-idUSTRE78I26920110919
From the beginning of 2012, the EU’s Emission Trading scheme will compel airlines flying to or from Europe to buy permits for 15% of their emissions. International carriers from Asia and the US have been vocal critics of the inclusion of aviation in the EU’s $120 billion trading scheme. The European Union faces a trade clash over its plans to curb emissions from aviation, European airlines said on Monday.
The latest flare-up in rhetoric comes four months ahead of the introduction of a scheme strongly opposed by China.
“If the EU persists in an approach which some have called imperialist, the question is posed as to how they will ensure compliance,” Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, Secretary General, Association of European Airlines, told a conference. China blocked a purchase of Airbus A380 aircraft at the Paris air show in June in retaliation at the EU measures, according to industry sources.
Critics say the scheme will penalize Asian airlines in particular because of the long distances to Europe. You don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to realise airline fares from Australia and NZ, as well as Asia and the US, will increase on European routes. The money gouged out of the airlines won’t be available for aircraft or engines. The EU’s ETS could impact on airline safety should airlines try to cut corners on aircraft maintenance to save money.
The new rules will cost the aviation industry 3.1 billion euros until 2020 – of which 1.1 billion euros will go to the European Governments.
The EU says the plan is key to limiting greenhouse gases and climate change – to combat future crop failures, droughts or floods. So where does the other 2 billion euros go while the EU waits for the next natural disaster?
Natural disasters have been occuring in Europe for thousands of years – well before the Industrial Revolution. So how do the EU explain the floods in Rome such as the one in 1277 when the Tiber River rose 15.88 metres above sea level?
Flood of 6 November 1277: 15.88 meters above sea level (unique example)
Floods in Rome have been happening since gladiators fought in the Colluseum. Markers exist all over Rome, showing flood levels from the years. A flood marker (Targa dell’inondazione) records the high water mark of a specific historic flood event. Nearly one hundred flood markers still exist in Rome. Here are two examples: one that records the 1277 flood, and the other that records the 1422 flood. Flood markers commemorate floods in 1495, 1530, 1557 and 1598. There were also historic level floods in 1230, 1379, 1476, 1589, and 1606 as well as numerous floods reported during antiquity and the Medieval period for which there are no surviving markers.
Flood Marker: Facade of the Church of S Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. (K. Rinne, 2001)
http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/waters/flood_markers.html
