| Attempts to stem the continued advance of climate change are now global in nature. Central to achieving these aims is the need to harness the market as well as permitting governments the scope and power to make real regulatory changes. The creation of emissions trading schemes under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol is just such an market instrument which can, if used correctly, contribute significantly to the international communities efforts. The airline industry is under significant pressure to make its own reductions, for all manner of greenhouse gases. To date, the subjection of the aviation industry to such regulation has been left in the control of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Progress by this body has not been substantial. As a result, some States have seen it necessary to make the first move in subjecting the aviation industry to emissions trading schemes. Foremost in these efforts has been the European Union's intention to bring flights within its already established emissions trading scheme. As a central tenet of this scheme, the EU intend subject all flights to the scheme, irrespective of the airlines nationality and its point of departure or arrival. Essentially, the scheme will seek to regulate international flights of non-EU airlines. It is the purpose of this thesis to consider the appropriateness of these steps by the EU. Does this project extend the regulation of airline emissions extraterritorially? Should the answer to this question be yes, does this prevent the EU from actually taking these steps? These and other questions are considered in the thesis. Ultimately, the paper seeks to address the proposed inclusion of aviation within the trading system and consider whether such an inclusion is in any way precluded by current international law. |
