No European flight to India if EU goes ahead with carbon tax | WPN World People News

European airlines have been warned of a ban on their entry into Indian airspace if the European Union imposes sanctions on the country's airlines over carbon emission tax on international carriers.

The EU is facing opposition from several nations, including China, Russia and the US over its carbon emissions trading scheme that makes its mandatory for airlines to pay for causing pollution. The scheme starts this year.

Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh in an interview with Financial Times threatened to ban EU carriers over the dispute.

"Travelling is always a two-way traffic If they can impose sanctions so can other countries," the minister said.

The remarks come a week after 10 Chinese and Indian carriers refused to provide the EU with carbon emissions data. It was said to be the most serious rebellion against the EU plan.

According to the plan, any airline that refuses to pay the proposed tax faces a risk of being banned from flying to EU countries.

Ajit Singh said if the EU goes ahead with the law, no country would benefit from the sanctions.

"(The EU) is a sovereign union, they can make laws for themselves but they cannot make laws for the whole world If you allow this, next they will impose a carbon tax on shipping or cement."

He sounded confident that the EU won't go ahead with the ban because the sanctions would prove futile at a time when the EU economy was weakening.

Under the Emissions Trading Scheme, around 4,000 airlines will have to pay the EU for pollution permits. This makes the scheme one of the widest-reaching emission regulation adopted by any country.

Source: Europe News.Net