By Li Hongmei
The European Union plans to fine eight Chinese airlines 2.4 million euros (US$3 million) for refusing to submit their carbon emission figures, according to the Chinese-language Beijing Times.
The union passed a law in November 2008 to include foreign airlines operating in the area into its European Union Emission Trading Scheme, which sets a cap for greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Businesses receive an allowance and must operate with the cap or face a fine.
The European Commission initially decided to suspend the scheme for one year last November, a decision that was approved by the European Parliament's environment committee in February this year. The tax will not come into effect until autumn, but airlines were still required to submit their emission data before April 30, the Beijing Times said.
Eight Chinese airlines - Air China, Air China Cargo, China Cargo Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Yangtze River Express and Jade Cargo International - all failed to comply.
China's foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China has opposed EU's decision to unilaterally include Chinese airlines in the scheme. The country's Air Transport Association also refuses to pay carbon emissions tax to the EU, said its deputy secretary-general Chai Haibo.
Chai said the tax issue should be resolved at the annual meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization in October, when airlines could establish a scheme that is both eco-friendly and beneficial to the development of civil aviation sector, especially rapidly-growing Chinese airlines.
Under the current EU emission tax scheme, Chinese airlines would have to pay at least 800 million yuan (US$130 million) in the first year, three billion yuan (US$489 million) by 2020 and 17.6 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) in nine years, while it only has the allowance in 12 of the 27 EU member countries.
China has increased its routes to Europe, following Air China launching a Chengdu-Frankfurt service on Sunday and a Beijing-Geneva service earlier in the month.
