Image via WikipediaTwenty-six nations are expected to lodge a formal protest on Wednesday against a
European Union law to make airlines pay for carbon emissions -- adding to
transatlantic tension on an issue that has triggered a tit-for-tat bill in the
Congress.
Under EU legislation, from January 1 all flights to or from Europe will have to buy carbon permits to help offset their emissions under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) -- the 27 member bloc's prime tool for trying to curb the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.
Last week, in the U.S. Congress, where environmental issues have become a flashpoint between Republicans and President Barack Obama's Democrats, the lower house passed a bill making it illegal for airlines to comply with the EU's law.
On Wednesday this week, a council meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada is also expected to take up the airlines' cause.
EU lawyers have said any decision by the ICAO council would not be legally binding, but could be a step toward a formal dispute procedure, in which the president of ICAO would mediate.
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