The European Commission (EC) has set in motion its registry to centralise carbon allowance accounts, currently held under national registries. This is the first step to allow airlines to open accounts: airlines operators with an open account are now eligible to acquire the first tranche of free allocation to be distributed in 2012. The centralization of procedures into a single EU registry was established under the revised ETS Directive adopted in 2009 in order to guarantee the precise accounting of all emission permits. Full activation, however, will not take place before June 2012; after that date the national registries, currently managed by Member States, will be replaced by a single registry operated by the EC.
However, U.S. and China are still fighting against the decision to include aviation in the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS).
U.S. Congress is going to approve a new bill running against the EU aviation rules in the coming weeks. Similarly, the Chinese government officially ordered its airlines not to pay for carbon allowances.

Read full stories and updates about carbon market in the latest issue of Climate Policy News, by Marinella Davide.

Photo by Masao.M