The recognition is part of a complicated case, which had its first hearing in London last month and now moves to Luxembourg.
The three airlines – United, Continental and American – plus the Air Transport Association of America have presented a legal action, claiming that the EU’s decision to involve US aircraft in EU emissions trading breaches international law and the EU/US Open Skies agreement. The Commission is contesting this.
Because the airlines would have to file their emissions data through the British authorities, they presented their legal action in Great Britain. At a hearing in London last month, it was agreed that the matter would be passed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, which will hear the case later this year or next year.
Opposing the case were T&E, two British-based environmental NGOs and three American NGOs. This coalition sought the right to ‘intervene’, a technical term denoting the ability to present expert evidence to the ECJ when the complaint comes to court.
T&E policy officer Bill Hemmings said, ‘This is a crucial case, because climate emissions from air transport are growing rapidly, yet the industry’s own policy of carbon-neutral growth is just a way of doing nothing for another decade. It’s therefore vital that the EU be allowed to take this small, tentative step towards charging aviation for its costs, and it’s important this spoiling action by the US airlines is not allowed to succeed.
‘The EU’s policy will only be given a fair hearing if the environmental argument is properly presented, which is why it is excellent news that rational environmental arguments will be heard by the ECJ through our coalition’s “intervener” status.’
