ALTA APPLAUDS DECISION OF U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE BANNING U.S. CARRIERS FROM PARTICIPATING IN EU-ETS

MIAMI (July 26, 2011) – ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association, strongly approves of the U.S. Transportation Committee’s decision on June 20, 2011 to propose legislation (European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011), prohibiting U.S. airlines from participating in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), based on the violation of territorial jurisdictions, breach of the Chicago Convention, the US-EU Open Skies Agreement, infringement of U.S. sovereignty and its contradiction of international efforts to reach a consensus through the governing body of ICAO.

“ALTA considers the EU-ETS to be an illegal, flawed and unjust attempt to force the aviation industry to concede to unilateral and biased measures to the benefit of European carriers,” said Alex de Gunten, ALTA’s Executive Director. “ALTA wholly agrees with the positions of the U.S. Transportation Committee, and reiterates its call to the authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean to also formally oppose any participation in the EU-ETS by international carriers, based on the infringement of the aforementioned accords, among other motives.”

ALTA also supports the Transportation Commission’s recommendation to work through ICAO to implement a global system that makes sense economically and environmentally, and recommends that authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean consider similar actions to prohibit airlines from the region to participate in the EU-ETS, ensuring that carriers will not be penalized for this legislation that violates international law.