Work
16.April 2010 - 00:00
Application of emissions trading scheme to historic aircraft
The EU’s first emissions trading period for aviation begins on 1 January 2012. The emissions trading scheme applies to all flights departing from and arriving at EU aerodromes, unless they are specially defined as falling outside the rules.
The law on the inclusion of aviation in emissions trading has already led to ambiguous situations for many flying clubs, including the Finnish DC Association which uses historic aircraft for voluntary activities ( www.dc-ry.fi).
The problem is that the directive stipulates that emissions trading applies without exception to aircraft in private use with a maximum take-off mass (MTOM) exceeding 5 700 kg which employ instrument flying, even historic aircraft. Consequently the DC Association’s DC-3, which has a MTOM of over 5 700 kg, is covered by the EU emissions trading scheme, even though it flies on average less than 5 hours a year on instruments (out of a total flying time of less than 100 hours per year).
Without instrument flying the Association would not be covered by the directive, but safety requirements call for this activity subject to weather conditions. Does the Commission see any scope for additional exemptions in the interpretation of the directive so as to prevent the EU from unintentionally creating, through the emissions trading scheme, a tax on instrument flying payable on aircraft in private use with a MTOM greater than 5 700 kg from their first flying hour?
In the annex to the document setting up the EASA (Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002, Article 4(2) and Annex II), the EU defined the aircraft referred to there as requiring oversight only by the national authorities on the grounds that they are commercially negligible. This definition includes aircraft with historical value, such as the DC-3, which do not have EASA type approval but only FAA approval.
Does the Commission consider it possible for these types of plane, by reason of their nature, to be added to the exemptions from the EU’s emissions trading scheme?
Professional airlines obtain exemption from numerous flying regulations and emission requirements under the de minimis rule (see Annex, point 2.7, subpoints 33 35 of the decision on the inclusion of aviation in emissions trading (2009/450/EC(1))).
However, this line of reasoning does not apply to historic aircraft.
Whom does it benefit if historic aircraft which fly for a few hours a year on instruments are made subject to the emissions trading scheme which consumes such a vast amount of resources?
Furthermore, the Finnish authorities have outsourced oversight to the Dutch authorities, under whose law communications have to take place in either Dutch or English. A Finnish voluntary historic aircraft association is thus subject to oversight by Dutch authorities and has to assert its legal rights in a foreign language. The DC Association’s request to obtain free CO2 quotas in Finnish was rejected, even though it is an official EU language.
Is it compatible with the EU’s fundamental principles that a Finnish not-for-profit historic aircraft association is unable to have its case considered by the authorities in its own country and in its own language?
(1) OJ L 149, 12.6.2009, p. 69.
E-0755/10EN
Answer given by Ms Hedegaard
on behalf of the Commission
(16.4.2010)
The Directive 2008/101/EC (1) so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the EU provides that emissions from all flights arriving at and departing from EU aerodromes should be included in EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012.
In order to avoid distortions of competition and improve environmental effectiveness, the Directive provides for as few exemptions as possible. In general the exemptions of the scheme have been aligned with the criteria applied by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air navigation (Eurocontrol) in levying route charges, this consistency should help ensure effective application and enforcement of the scheme.
Aircraft below the maximum take-off weight are exempt from the scheme, therefore if the aircraft of the Finnish DC Association exceeds the specified MTOW, and flies under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), it can not be exempt from the scheme. It is not possible to add additional exemptions from the EU ETS emission scheme except through the ordinary legislative procedure.
The Finnish DC Association has no operating license issued in a European Member State and therefore, according to the criteria set in the Directive 2008/101/EC, its aircraft have been assigned to the Netherlands for administration based on the greatest attributed aviation emissions. The Commission has no power to change the administering Member State using any other criteria. Equally, the Commission does not impose a language regime on Member States for the implementation of the Directive.
Greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the EU provides that emissions from all flights arriving at and departing from EU aerodromes should be included in EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012.
In order to avoid distortions of competition and improve environmental effectiveness, the Directive provides for as few exemptions as possible. In general the exemptions of the scheme have been aligned with the criteria applied by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air navigation (Eurocontrol) in levying route charges, this consistency should help ensure effective application and enforcement of the scheme.
Aircraft below the maximum take-off weight are exempt from the scheme, therefore if the aircraft of the Finnish DC Association exceeds the specified MTOW, and flies under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), it can not be exempt from the scheme. It is not possible to add additional exemptions from the EU ETS emission scheme except through the ordinary legislative procedure. The Finnish DC Association has no operating license issued in a European Member State and therefore, according to the criteria set in the Directive 2008/101/EC, its aircraft have been assigned to the Netherlands for administration based on the greatest attributed aviation emissions. The Commission has no power to change the administering Member State using any other criteria. Equally, the Commission does not impose a language regime on Member States for the implementation of the Directive.
The Finnish DC Association has no operating license issued in a European Member State and therefore, according to the criteria set in the Directive 2008/101/EC, its aircraft have been assigned to the Netherlands for administration based on the greatest attributed aviation emissions. The Commission has no power to change the administering Member State using any other criteria. Equally, the Commission does not impose a language regime on Member States for the implementation of the Directive.
(1) OJ L 8, 13.1.2009.
The EU’s first emissions trading period for aviation begins on 1 January 2012. The emissions trading scheme applies to all flights departing from and arriving at EU aerodromes, unless they are specially defined as falling outside the rules.
The law on the inclusion of aviation in emissions trading has already led to ambiguous situations for many flying clubs, including the Finnish DC Association which uses historic aircraft for voluntary activities ( www.dc-ry.fi).
The problem is that the directive stipulates that emissions trading applies without exception to aircraft in private use with a maximum take-off mass (MTOM) exceeding 5 700 kg which employ instrument flying, even historic aircraft. Consequently the DC Association’s DC-3, which has a MTOM of over 5 700 kg, is covered by the EU emissions trading scheme, even though it flies on average less than 5 hours a year on instruments (out of a total flying time of less than 100 hours per year).
Without instrument flying the Association would not be covered by the directive, but safety requirements call for this activity subject to weather conditions. Does the Commission see any scope for additional exemptions in the interpretation of the directive so as to prevent the EU from unintentionally creating, through the emissions trading scheme, a tax on instrument flying payable on aircraft in private use with a MTOM greater than 5 700 kg from their first flying hour?
In the annex to the document setting up the EASA (Regulation (EC) No 1592/2002, Article 4(2) and Annex II), the EU defined the aircraft referred to there as requiring oversight only by the national authorities on the grounds that they are commercially negligible. This definition includes aircraft with historical value, such as the DC-3, which do not have EASA type approval but only FAA approval.
Does the Commission consider it possible for these types of plane, by reason of their nature, to be added to the exemptions from the EU’s emissions trading scheme?
Professional airlines obtain exemption from numerous flying regulations and emission requirements under the de minimis rule (see Annex, point 2.7, subpoints 33 35 of the decision on the inclusion of aviation in emissions trading (2009/450/EC(1))).
However, this line of reasoning does not apply to historic aircraft.
Whom does it benefit if historic aircraft which fly for a few hours a year on instruments are made subject to the emissions trading scheme which consumes such a vast amount of resources?
Furthermore, the Finnish authorities have outsourced oversight to the Dutch authorities, under whose law communications have to take place in either Dutch or English. A Finnish voluntary historic aircraft association is thus subject to oversight by Dutch authorities and has to assert its legal rights in a foreign language. The DC Association’s request to obtain free CO2 quotas in Finnish was rejected, even though it is an official EU language.
Is it compatible with the EU’s fundamental principles that a Finnish not-for-profit historic aircraft association is unable to have its case considered by the authorities in its own country and in its own language?
(1) OJ L 149, 12.6.2009, p. 69.
E-0755/10EN
Answer given by Ms Hedegaard
on behalf of the Commission
(16.4.2010)
The Directive 2008/101/EC (1) so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the EU provides that emissions from all flights arriving at and departing from EU aerodromes should be included in EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012.
In order to avoid distortions of competition and improve environmental effectiveness, the Directive provides for as few exemptions as possible. In general the exemptions of the scheme have been aligned with the criteria applied by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air navigation (Eurocontrol) in levying route charges, this consistency should help ensure effective application and enforcement of the scheme.
Aircraft below the maximum take-off weight are exempt from the scheme, therefore if the aircraft of the Finnish DC Association exceeds the specified MTOW, and flies under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), it can not be exempt from the scheme. It is not possible to add additional exemptions from the EU ETS emission scheme except through the ordinary legislative procedure.
The Finnish DC Association has no operating license issued in a European Member State and therefore, according to the criteria set in the Directive 2008/101/EC, its aircraft have been assigned to the Netherlands for administration based on the greatest attributed aviation emissions. The Commission has no power to change the administering Member State using any other criteria. Equally, the Commission does not impose a language regime on Member States for the implementation of the Directive.
Greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the EU provides that emissions from all flights arriving at and departing from EU aerodromes should be included in EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012.
In order to avoid distortions of competition and improve environmental effectiveness, the Directive provides for as few exemptions as possible. In general the exemptions of the scheme have been aligned with the criteria applied by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air navigation (Eurocontrol) in levying route charges, this consistency should help ensure effective application and enforcement of the scheme.
Aircraft below the maximum take-off weight are exempt from the scheme, therefore if the aircraft of the Finnish DC Association exceeds the specified MTOW, and flies under the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), it can not be exempt from the scheme. It is not possible to add additional exemptions from the EU ETS emission scheme except through the ordinary legislative procedure. The Finnish DC Association has no operating license issued in a European Member State and therefore, according to the criteria set in the Directive 2008/101/EC, its aircraft have been assigned to the Netherlands for administration based on the greatest attributed aviation emissions. The Commission has no power to change the administering Member State using any other criteria. Equally, the Commission does not impose a language regime on Member States for the implementation of the Directive.
The Finnish DC Association has no operating license issued in a European Member State and therefore, according to the criteria set in the Directive 2008/101/EC, its aircraft have been assigned to the Netherlands for administration based on the greatest attributed aviation emissions. The Commission has no power to change the administering Member State using any other criteria. Equally, the Commission does not impose a language regime on Member States for the implementation of the Directive.
(1) OJ L 8, 13.1.2009.