Just days ahead of a summit in Beijing, where it plans to seek Chinese help in easing its debt crisis, the European Union (EU) showed signs that it may be willing to soften its stand on a carbon emissions tax on airlines. China has ordered its airlines not to join the scheme.
Tony Tyler, the chief of IATA. Photo: Bloomberg
“The European Commission is now much more open to an International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao) solution,” Tony Tyler, the chief of the International Air Transport Association, told
Reuters on Sunday. Icao is the UN body entrusted with creating aviation standards.
This is in marked contrast to the unyielding EU position even after a host of countries— including the US and India—had protested against the EU tax.
Clearly, as in war, might works in trade too. What was until a month ago a line etched in stone is now turning into a more reasonable stand. India ought to borrow a leaf out of China’s copybook.