China
banned airlines from taking part in a European Union carbon-emissions system
designed to curb pollution, saying the program violates international rules.
The
system contravenes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
and international civil aviation regulations, the Civil Aviation Administration
of China said in a statement cited on 5 February by the official Xinhua news
agency. Carriers were also barred from using the EU program as a reason for
raising fares, it said.
The
European Union hopes to resolve the issue through negotiations, Markus Ederer, its ambassador to China, said at a press briefing
in Beijing on 6 February. India, the U.S. and global airlines have also raised
objections to the levy, arguing it will raise costs and be less effective than
a global solution.
The
airline group has called on the government to oppose the EU levy and it is
working on a legal challenge in Germany. Whether the lawsuit will continue will
depend on the EU reaction to the China ban, Chai said. The group’s members
include China’s big three state-controlled carriers, Air China Ltd. (753),
China Southern Airlines Co. and China Eastern Airlines Corp. (670)
The
EU added aviation to a wider carbon-trading system on Jan. 1. The move could
cost Chinese airlines as much as 800 million yuan in
2012, according to the China airline group.
The
dispute could be resolved in a number of ways, including bilateral or
multilateral talks, or through a legal ruling, Ederer
said. The EU Court of Justice in December upheld the legality of the bloc’s
drive to extend the world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade program beyond its borders.