LACAC REJECTS EU-EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME

MIAMI, FLORIDA (August 4, 2011) – ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association, strongly supports the recent declaration by LACAC, the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission, (known as CLAC in Spanish) opposing the EU-Emissions Trading Scheme.

Signed on July 28. 2011, LACAC’s Cartagena de Indias Declaration:
Urges Member States of the European Union not to apply Directive 2008/101/CE to third country operators, without the previous agreement of the States involved..
Requests ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, to continue working on the development of a framework of market-based measures, taking into account the principles of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Since 2010, ALTA also has been calling on the region’s local governments, and LACAC, to counter the proliferation of unilateral measures on CO2 emissions, and consequently reject the inclusion of international aviation in the EU-ETS, which it considered an illegal, flawed and unjust attempt to force the industry to concede to unilateral and biased measures.

“ALTA wholeheartedly agrees with LACAC’s position and is thrilled to have their support in this critical matter,” affirms Alex de Gunten, Executive Director of ALTA. “The impending EU-ETS threatens to cost the region’s carriers hundreds of millions of dollars just in the first few years and will divert funds that could be used for new technologies and the acquisition of newer, more fuel-efficient fleets.”