US, allies renew opposition to EU airline tax

US: The United States and 16 other nations Wednesday renewed their "strong opposition" to a controversial EU carbon tax on airlines, vowing to work for a multilateral global solution.

The meeting hosted in Washington with 16 other countries was called to explore ideas for a global solution to address greenhouse gases stemming from the aviation industry, among emissions blamed for climate change.

A carbon tax, or emissions trading scheme (ETS), was imposed on airlines by the European Union on January 1, but carriers will begin receiving bills only in 2013 after this year's carbon emissions have been assessed.

The United States, and other nations, have objected to the unilateral EU action although they agree a global policy is needed to address the issue.

"In a nutshell the meeting confirmed... the very solid and strong opposition to the ETS as applied to foreign carriers," a top administration official said.

The US aviation trade organization, Airlines for America, has also rejected the EU move, saying US airlines would be charged a tax on the total flight, even if only a portion of it was over EU airspace. AFP