C Tax: India, US and others to decide on retaliatory measures

India, Russia, the United States, China and other countries would meet in Moscow later this month to decide on whether to take retaliatory measures against the European Union (EU) on its "unilateral" decision to impose carbon tax on air travel.

A strong message was learnt to have been delivered to an EU delegation led by Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard today, in which the Indian side is understood to have taken a hard posture on the issue.

The EU has imposed the tax with effect from January one, but 26 countries, including India, Russia, China and US, had jointly opposed the move saying it was "inconsistent with the international legal regimes".

Official sources said over 30 countries would meet in Moscow on February 21 and 22 to take a decision on what retaliatory measures could be taken against EU if it insists on imposing the carbon tax on non-EU flights as there was a "growing agreement" on the matter.

"Even if only India, Russia and China decide to start charging for over-flights by European carriers or decide to restrict the number of flights being operated by them citing emission concerns, it could have a devastating effect on the European airline industry," the sources said.

A 'Delhi Declaration' was unanimously adopted at the meeting of International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) Council and other non-EU Member States here last September.

The declaration had opposed EU's plan to include all flights by non-EU carriers to and from an airport in the EU territory in its emissions trading system, saying it was inconsistent with applicable international law. It had called upon the EU not to include these flights in its emissions trading system.

Justifying the EU carbon law, Hedegaard said, "It is not just a wild idea" and it entered into force after it was "tried years and years and years to get a global regulation" on carbon emission by airlines.

Interacting with media after a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh here, she also indicated that EU was willing to consider any global consensus adopted on the European Union Emission Trading System (EU-ETS) issue.

"Basically, my approach, the European approach is to say to our Indian and other counterparts that....(if) you would not like, it will be much more interesting to know what is actually your proposal, your initiatives to get a global way of doing that," she said.
"That is what we are looking for so many years and (we) need more parties actually to engage," Hedegaard said.

At today's meeting, the Indian side made it clear that India and many other nations globally had the option of either accepting the new European law or imposing retaliatory measures as the EU was being "intransigent" in its stand, the official sources said.

Maintaining that the EU law "offends Indian sovereignty", the sources said Indian carriers, which submitted their emission data to the EU in December, have now been told by the government not to do so individually as such data would be, from now on, furnished only by it and only if necessary.

They said the ICAO members and other non-EU nations have decided to continue to work together to oppose the imposition of the EU-ETS on their airlines.