A US Senate committee Tuesday passed a bill that would allow the Department of Transportation to block US airlines from complying with the European Union's plan to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from airplanes.
The Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the bill (S. 1956) by a voice vote. Senator John Thune, Republican-South Dakota, sponsored the measure.
The committee unanimously adopted an amendment that made small changes to the bill, including requiring a public hearing before the Transportation Secretary imposes the ban.
The bill does not specify penalties for airlines that do comply with the EU regulations, leaving that to the discretion of the Transportation Secretary.
The committee's top Republican, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, praised the bill for blocking the "unilateral taxation of US companies and our citizens," by a foreign power.
Senator John Kerry, Democrat-Massachusetts, called for the US to take action on greenhouse gas regulation, although he said he opposes the EU's unilateral decision to regulate aviation GHGs. Kerry cautioned that Congress could set off a spiral of retaliation if the US does not craft its own plans to decrease airline emissions.
"We're heading for a trade war if we don't do something," Kerry said.
The measure now goes to the full Senate. The US House of Representatives has already passed a similar bill (H.R. 2594), with overwhelming support from both parties.
Top Obama administration officials have strongly denounced the EU's move to regulate emissions from US airlines. The EU's regulations are controversial in part because they count emissions for the entirety of any flight that lands at a European airport, even if it originates in Los Angeles or another distant city. Airlines that fall short of their required level of government-issued emissions "allowances" would have to pay monetary penalties to the EU -- something that US airlines and politicians have said will never happen.
Those allowances are due for the first time at the end of April 2013. Airlines that do not comply with the EU law can be fined Eur100/mt.
The vote came on the first day of a meeting in Washington with representatives from nearly 20 nations that oppose the EU's plans to regulate GHGs. In the two-day meeting, nations will discuss alternatives to the EU plan, which could be presented to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN-sponsored body that oversees aviation issues.
But a senior US official said Monday that talks are only in the early stages and a concrete proposal would be unlikely to emerge from the meeting.
The EU's regulations seek to cap aviation-related GHG emissions at about 213 million mt of carbon-dioxide equivalent this year, just below the average level in 2004-2006. The EU is giving airlines most of the needed emissions "allowances" for free, but carriers must purchase additional allowances if their emissions are too high.
