U.S. Vote on EU Aviation Plan May Trigger Trade War, Lobby Says

The U.S. House of Representatives’ backing for a bill to bar American airlines from paying for greenhouse gas discharges under the European Union emissions-trading plan may lead to a trade war, an environment lobby said.

The House yesterday passed the “European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011” after the industry estimated that participation in the cap-and-trade system would cost U.S. airlines $3.1 billion between 2012 and 2020. The U.S. move comes five weeks before the start of a United Nations summit to debate post-2012 climate-protection rules, highlighting the challenge of ironing out a global agreement to put a price on carbon and prevent global warming.