The European Environment Agency estimates that increased CO2 emissions for air travel has cancelled out nearly a quarter of all savings from other sectors. Although currently only producing something in the region of 3% of the EU’s carbon dioxide, the International Panel of Climate Change estimates that this will be 15% by 2050.

If the EU plans are ratified all airlines would be given a cap on the emissions that they could produce. They would then have to buy additional permits from companies that had invested in efficiency and reduced their own emissions – the so called “cut or pay” strategy.

Experts estimate that this could add up to £6 to the cost of an average flight and more for long haul flights but the alternative of a flat tax on flight would be even more expensive and is being resisted by the airlines.

British Airways strongly supports the ETS but Germany’s Lufthansa is expected to try to block the scheme being adopted. The airline industry was exempted from the Kyoto climate change protocols on condition that it came up with an acceptable scheme for curbing emissions by 2007 but progress on a global plan has stalled leaving only a Europe wide scheme as a realistic alternative.