“Make your own special song, even if nobody else sings along”: International aviation emissions and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Issue title: Australia's New Climate Laws

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kulovesi, Kati

Note: [] Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Law, University of Eastern Finland, [email protected]. The title of this article has been inspired by lyrics of the pop song “Make Your Own Kind of Music”, written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Well. The author wishes to thank Elisa Morgera, Miquel Muñoz, Ismo Ulvila, Antto Vihma, Chris Spence, and Climate Law's reviewers for their helpful comments on the manuscript. All mistakes and omissions remain the author's sole responsibility.

Abstract: This article focuses on the escalating international row over the decision by the European Union to include aviation emissions in its Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012 onwards. The main point of controversy is that the ETS will apply to foreign airlines to the extent they operate flights to and from EU airports. The article sheds light on the background of the dispute by providing an overview of the slow progress on aviation emissions under the UNFCCC and the International Civil Aviation Organization. It describes the main features of the EU scheme and discusses the pending request for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the compatibility of the ETS with international law. The article concludes that there is a good case to be made for the legal design of the EU's scheme for aviation emissions under international law. Furthermore, from a climate-policy perspective, the scheme can be seen as a necessary first step towards controlling rapidly growing aviation emissions. At the same time, the continuing global impasse on climate change mitigation raises concerns over fragmentation of climate change law and the spread of unilateral climate policies and retaliatory measures.

DOI: 10.3233/CL-2011-050

Journal: Climate Law, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 535-558, 2011