AVIATION IN THE EU GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
TRADING SCHEME (5154/07)
Letter from the Chairman to Ian Pearson
MP, Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment,
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Sub-Committee B considered this document, and
your Explanatory Memorandum, at its meeting on 19 February.
As you will be aware, we conducted an inquiry
into the Commission's Communication, Reducing the Climate Change
Impact of Aviation. We published our report, Including
Aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme,[19]
in February 2006. As you might also be aware, this report is due
to be debated on the floor of the House on Thursday 8 March. We
would expect a copy of the Government's Regulatory Impact Assessment
before this date.
We will maintain scrutiny on the proposal at
this stage.
26 February 2007
Letter from Lord Rooker, Minister for
Sustainable Farming and Food, Department for Environment Food
and Rural Affairs to the Chairman
Thank you for your letter of 26 February 2007
to Ian Pearson on the above mentioned Explanatory Memorandum and
the forthcoming debate in the House of Lords on your Committee's
report Including Aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
You requested that we submit a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
ahead of the debate.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide an RIA
in time for the forthcoming debate. The UK is still assessing
the Commission proposals, and more work on the RIA is required
in particular. However we will shortly be launching a public consultation
on the dossier, by which time we will have further analysis to
support a RIA. Defra and the Department for Transport will of
course submit the RIA under cover of a Supplementary Explanatory
Memorandum as soon as it becomes available.
It is unfortunate that the timing of the debate
means that it has not been possible for this work to be completed
beforehand, however I would be happy to cover these issues in
the course of the debate so far as I can at this stage.
8 March 2007
Letter from the Chairman to Gillian Merron
MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Department
for Transport
Thank you for your Explanatory Memorandum dated
26 January 2007 which Sub-Committee B considered at its meeting
on 23 April 2007.
The Committee has firmly supported the inclusion
of aviation in the EU ETS and we welcome the Commission's proposals
in this respect as well as the Government's initiatives in the
context of its White Paper on the Future of Air Transport. We
hope that the UK will continue showing the leadership it demonstrated
with its initiatives for reducing the climate change impact of
aviation during the period that it held the Presidency of the
EU Council.
We would welcome clarification from you on your
concerns over the inclusion in the scheme of both departing as
well as arriving flights. What is the legal basis for including
flights originating from outside the EU; how will their emissions
be measured; and how will the scheme be enforced on these flights?
We will continue to maintain scrutiny on the
Commission's draft Directive at this stage.
24 April 2007
19 21st Report of Session 2005-06, HL Paper 107. Back
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