Today the European Parliament endorsed the compromise agreement reached with the Council to include civil aviation in the EU Emissions Trading System. Aviation is the first industry from the transport sector to be included in the scheme. CO2 emissions from planes have risen by 87% since 1990.

ALDE´s environment spokesperson Chris Davies (Lib Dem, UK) commented: "MEPs have responded to the spectacular pace of air traffic growth by calling for a tougher approach than proposed by the Commission. Air travel across Europe has never been so cheap as it is now, but the real price will be paid by future generations if we don't apply pressure to curb the rise in carbon emissions." 

The compromise entails that from 1st January 2012 all flights starting and/or landing in Europe will be included in the ETS.  85 Percent of the emissions certificates will be allocated for free and 15 percent will be auctioned. In the first period, until 2012, airline emissions are to be cut by three percent, and from 2013 onwards the emissions will have to decrease by 5 percent.

The revenues generated from the auctioning should be used to fund climate change mitigation, research on clean aircraft, anti-deforestation measures in the developing world or low-emission transport.