AMSTERDAM: The European Union told airlines Monday to trim their carbon emissions by three percent on flights to the continent next year to fall within new pollution limits. The limit is designed to encourage airlines to reduce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming by switching to cleaner fuels or economizing on fuel consumption with lighter aircraft or more efficient flight patterns. As of Jan. 1, some 4,000 airlines will fall under the EU's cap and trade scheme on flights to and from European airports. Each carrier is allocated permits to emit a set amount of carbon dioxide. They can buy extra credits if they exceed that limit or sell credits if they emit less. The European Commission, the EU's executive, Monday set the 2012 cap at 212.9 million tons of CO2, about 3 percent less than the annual average the airlines emitted in 2004-2006. The cap will be reduced the following year by another 2 percent of that three-year average, where it will remain until 2020. Emissions from aviation are growing faster than from any other sector.
