European Emissions Trading Deadlines Loom
Click here for more news / Clique aqui para mais notícias
George Larson george_larson@bellsouth.net
Experts from flight support services such as Air Routing, ARINC Direct, Honeywell Global and Universal Weather & Aviation are alerting customers to the August 31 deadline for required submission of European aircraft emissions monitoring plans, and most customers are glad to have the services manage that chore for them.
The good news, according to Laura Everington, manager of regulatory services for Universal Weather & Aviation, is that even operators who fly fewer than 243 legs - that is a flight to, from or within the EU -- in a given four-month period or generate fewer than 10,000 metric tons of CO2 in a year will fall into the category of small emitters and thereby be subject to simplified reporting, although they'll still face fees.
She says the bad news is that an EU web site that was expected to provide some of the hoped-for templates for monitoring plans, originally set for April 15, will not be ready until mid-July.
Everington attended a workshop held in London in early June to provide guidance on the formulation of monitoring plans under the EU regulations. Attending were some 200 people "from all walks of life in commercial operations, corporate flight departments and the NBAA," she says. The workshop was necessary because the EU, which has generally been out front on environmental regulation of industry, adopted a rule including aircraft operations in its scope back in October 2008. Individual countries are tasked with creating their own laws, and the individual operator's flight routes will determine which country's law governs as determined by Eurocontrol's assessment of where the aircraft operate most. A preliminary list was drawn up based on activity during 2006. Some operators have received letters of notification, but others have not. The United States and other nations are eventually expected to enact laws to replace all this, but not anytime soon.
In 2010, operators must begin monitoring emissions and submit a report to the appropriate nation's regulator by March 31, 2011. By submitting an application for free allocation known as a benchmarking plan by August 31, an operator can submit data under an existing formula and obtain free allocation of allowances for 2012 and 2013. A benchmarking plan is completely voluntary and there is no penalty for non-participation.
However, Everington points out that 82 percent of allocations for 2010-11 will be reserved for benchmark participants.
"It's all based on flight planning--gas in, gas out--so let's automate it," she says. "We want to develop something that's not just for the EU but would be global."
Photo credit: Mike Vines
