ALTA, the Latin America and Caribbean Air Transport Association, Urges Latin American Governments to Strongly Reject Unilateral EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Miami (June 6, 2011) – ALTA, the Latin America and Caribbean Air Transport Association, is calling on governments, its members and its industry partners, to reject the inclusion of international aviation in the EU-Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), which it considers an illegal, flawed and unjust attempt to force the aviation industry to concede to unilateral and biased measures to the benefit of European carriers. The impending EU-ETS threatens to negatively affect the region’s carriers and cost them hundreds of millions of dollars over the first few years of implementation.

“The EU-ETS will be detrimental to the growth of aviation in Latin America and will set the industry back several years, during a time of unsteady economic performance,” said Alex de Gunten, Executive Director of ALTA. “ALTA is a strong supporter of a global approach to the reduction of carbon emissions through proactive steps, such as the use of new technologies, fleet renewal, the improvement of operational processes, effective investment in infrastructure and the development of biofuels.”

ALTA considers that the EU-ETS:

1) Exceeds EU regulatory authority
a. Unilaterally applying the EU-ETS to non-EU airlines and those operating outside the European region, constitutes a breach of the Chicago Convention and the Kyoto Protocol, which identifies ICAO as the only governing body to have exclusive responsibility for the implementation of policies intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the international aviation sector. By extending the reach of the ETS to international carriers, the EU has elected to act outside of the international regulatory framework in respect to both international aviation and climate change.

2) Discriminates in favor of EU and Non-LATAM carriers
a. Currently, EU carriers operate three-quarters of the flights and seats between Europe and the Latin American region. The bilateral agreements and the international principles of aviation law provide for equal opportunities. With the EU-ETS, Latin American and Caribbean airlines will need to pay significantly higher fees to conduct the same number of flights as the European airlines currently operate.

a. EU-ETS is an ill conceived initiative. EU-ETS will divert funds that would be used for new technologies and the acquisition of new, more fuel-efficient fleets. Airlines around the world already have every possible incentive to reduce their fuel consumption and, consequently, their Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. As a result, over the last 30 years, they have reduced their emissions per passenger per mile transported by nearly 50% on average.

In conjunction with its member airlines, ALTA has been promoting improvements in fuel efficiency and coordinates the efforts to support a long-term reduction of GHG emissions in the industry. The region’s aviation industry has reached several important environmental milestones, including:

· In the last 30 years, the industry has reduced emissions by roughly 50% per passenger per mile.
· ALTA’s airlines have invested over $30 billion over the last 5 years in new, more environmentally friendly aircraft, resulting in one of the youngest and fuel efficient fleet in the world with an average age of 7.9 years.
· ALTA airlines are investing in biofuels. In November 2010, TAM Airlines flew the first successful experimental flight in Latin America using biofuel produced from the oil of the Jatropha curcas.

ALTA’s members are committed to reducing the industry’s environmental impact. Last November, during ALTA’s Annual General Meeting, its members passed a resolution addressing the association´s environmental efforts with a focus on:

· Supporting the unified position of both ICAO and the worldwide aviation industry, in terms of aspirational goals and emissions reduction;
· Putting into effect the request of a global emissions scheme led by ICAO, through the use of market-based measures (MBM), and monitoring the provisions raised by the 37th ICAO Assembly in its resolution on environment;
· Rejecting the application of taxes on aviation emissions, since they do not effectively tackle climate change;
· Reinforcing the strong opposition to any unilateral, national or regional regulation on emissions and in that sense, to especially call Governments of the region to oppose the unilateral implementation by the European Community of its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on aviation.

About ALTA:

ALTA (Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association) is a private, non-profit organization, whose member airlines represent more than 90 percent of the region’s commercial air traffic. ALTA coordinates the collaborative efforts of its members in order to facilitate the development of safer, more efficient and environmentally friendly air transport in the Latin America and Caribbean region for the mutual benefit of the association’s members, their customers and the industry. www.alta.aero.

Member Airlines: Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeroméxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Aerosur, Air Jamaica, Avianca, Bahamas Air, Caribbean Airlines, Cayman Airways, COPA Airlines, COPA Airlines Colombia, Cubana, GOL, LAN, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru, LIAT, PLUNA, TACA, TACA Peru, TAM, TAM Mercosur, TAME, Volaris. Associate Members: Air Canada, Continental Airlines, Iberia, TAP Portugal, United Airlines, UPS, WestJet. Affiliate Members: Airbus, Airline Business Magazine, Amadeus, AON, ARINC, Ascend, ATR, AvGroup, Bain & Company, Barfield, Boeing, Bombardier, CFM, Chevron Aviation, Chromalloy, Embraer, GE Aviation, Hahn Air, HEICO, Lufthansa Consulting, Lufthansa Systems, MARSH Aviation, Mercator, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation, OAG, Petrobras, Pratt & Whitney, Rockwell Collins, ROUTES, SABRE Air Solutions, SH&E, SHELL Aviation, SITA, SNECMA, Spencer Stuart, Superjet International, Travelport, UATP, Wencor and Willis Aerospace.