Arab airlines joined efforts in Doha to resist the European plan over carbon emission. Amirah Ibrahim reports The Executive Committee of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation AACO held its 63 session in Doha last week, during which the spotlight turned on the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) implemented by the European Union on airlines entering EU airspace with the intention of a major long term reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the air transport industry. "The Arab carriers are keen to handle those obstacles which prove to be against air transport industry and business," explained Hossam Kamal, chairman of the national carrier, EgyptAir who participated to the meeting. "The European Commission insists on paying its scheme for airlines operating to Europe, ignoring and refusing to communicate with many approaches which we believe are more practical,"Kamal explained AACO represents the interests of commercial airlines across the Arab world, with its executive committee consisting of EgyptAir, Airways, MEA, Saudi Airlines, Syria Air, Gulf Air, Algerian airlines and Eitihad airlines. The Doha meeting discussed the EU's persistence in applying its ETS programme to confront global warming despite objections voiced by governments around the world about the scheme's legality. Kamal charged that the European scheme was violating the Chicago convention which stipulated that any modification to the existing accords should be adopted within a mutual consent and agreement not by one side. According to Kamal, the attending CEOs called on the EU to work with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on a global, rather than Europe-wide, solution on how to deal with the environmental footprint of civil aviation. "We call on the EU to redirect its efforts on the environmental issue through ICAO and find a global solution and relinquish its unilateral application of the ETS," commented Kamal. AACO mebers gathered in Doha reached a number of recommendations in regard with the ETS. "We have agreed to ask the Arab Civil Aviation Authority ACAA to represent Arab airlines in contacting EC and negotiating the issue," Kamal added. AACO recommendations indicated that the resolutions of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had explicitly called upon states that wish to introduce initiatives in the environmental footprint of aviation to do that in agreement with the other states whose institutions might be impacted by such initiatives. "The fact that the ETS holds airlines of the world responsible for their emissions before the European authorities, contradicts the principles of sovereignty of states over their national aerospace, and that national institutions of states are responsible before its own authorities and not the authorities of other countries," stated AACO final statement. The statement warned that the EU's attempts to impose its own policies on other states will lead to conflicts and trade wars which will not help the environment, the customer nor will it help the airlines. "On the contrary, these attempts will negatively impact those stakeholders thus negatively impacting as well the global economic activity." AACO insisted that the environmental cause was a global one and any solution thereof should also be global arrived at under the auspices of the concerned United Nations agency ICAO. As such, AACO emphasised its support to taking global measures agreed upon within ICAO. Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al-Baker, who hosted members at the meeting, said the Emission Trading Scheme was one of the most controversial subjects facing the global aviation industry today. "There has to be a systematic approach to the implementation of any such scheme and, like many airlines around the world, we feel the European Union needed to take a step-by-step consultative approach before imposing programmes and penalising an aviation industry that plays a crucial role in driving economies."
