New Delhi: India is likely to join forces with China to lobby for changes - and even partially block - in a UN-brokered global deal to freeze carbon emissions by the aviation industry at 2020 levels.
The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will meet next month to finalise the deal that could slow down aviation growth in Asia, besides imposing a carbon emission fee on airlines.
The deal, backed by US negotiators, is being reluctantly supported by the European Union (EU), which at one stage wanted even tougher measures, including punitive taxes on airlines flying to Europe.
Officials said New Delhi had made it clear that it would not agree to the move, which seeks to oblige airlines with international flights to neutralise their emissions through the purchase of offset credits.
India and China also have misgivings about efforts to freeze emissions by 2020 through a structured process, which ICAO sources say will stretch till 2026.
"Ours are developing markets which are still growing at a phenomenal rate. The European and American markets are mature with little scope for growth. They can cap their carbon emissions anytime. If we do, we will be depriving our people from accessing airlines... we need more time for a cap to come in place," said top officials involved in the negotiations.
In June, passenger traffic grew 17 per cent in India and 14 per cent in China, according to the Airports Council International.
A draft proposal has differentiated the cost of capping carbon emissions between developed and developing nations, but not to the satisfaction of emerging aviation powers such as China, India, Brazil or even Korea.
28/08/16 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Telegraph
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The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will meet next month to finalise the deal that could slow down aviation growth in Asia, besides imposing a carbon emission fee on airlines.
The deal, backed by US negotiators, is being reluctantly supported by the European Union (EU), which at one stage wanted even tougher measures, including punitive taxes on airlines flying to Europe.
Officials said New Delhi had made it clear that it would not agree to the move, which seeks to oblige airlines with international flights to neutralise their emissions through the purchase of offset credits.
India and China also have misgivings about efforts to freeze emissions by 2020 through a structured process, which ICAO sources say will stretch till 2026.
"Ours are developing markets which are still growing at a phenomenal rate. The European and American markets are mature with little scope for growth. They can cap their carbon emissions anytime. If we do, we will be depriving our people from accessing airlines... we need more time for a cap to come in place," said top officials involved in the negotiations.
In June, passenger traffic grew 17 per cent in India and 14 per cent in China, according to the Airports Council International.
A draft proposal has differentiated the cost of capping carbon emissions between developed and developing nations, but not to the satisfaction of emerging aviation powers such as China, India, Brazil or even Korea.
28/08/16 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Telegraph
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