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EU Parliament exempts foreign airlines from carbon tax until 2020

BRUSSELS, Sept 13 (KUNA) -- The European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution Wednesday stating that foreign airlines flying in and out of Europe are not required to pay for CO2 emissions until 2020.
The resolution, approved by 601 votes to 69, prolongs the exemption from EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) rules until December 2020, pending the introduction of a worldwide scheme to offset CO2 emissions from air transport. In the meantime, the EU's aviation Emissions Trading Scheme will continue to cover only internal EU flights.
"It is sensible that we extend the exemption for international flights to and from the EU until there is greater clarity on the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization ) scheme," said the rapporteur of the resolution Julie Girling.
"However, unlike the European Commission, I believe this exemption must be time limited," she added.
"Aviation contributes 1.3% of global CO2 emissions and that will increase significantly over the coming decades, unless effective action is taken," Girling said.
"The EU is already leading the way on tackling this issue and we must not let the pace slacken." she noted. The International Civil Aviation Authority is due to introduce in 2021 a global carbon offsetting scheme for the aviation sector, capping emissions levels by 2020. (end) nk.nam