Aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme: A step forward in climate policy

The European Commission’s proposal of September 2005 to include the aviation sector in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) can be seen as a step forward in including the aviation sector in climate policy. The environmental impacts of including aviation in the EU-ETS will depend fully on the design of the trading system, especially on the total of CO2 emission allowances that will be determined. Kerosene tax and emission charges are instruments worthwhile considering as well.