14 DAY TRIAL // China has decided to seek justice in court, while still refusing to comply with the present EU carbon emission regulations. If the Chinese are keen on questioning the lawfulness of these measures, the lawsuit might begin by the end of 2011.
China isn't discouraged by America's failed attempt to fight the legal framework established for carbon emission, and continues coming up with pertinent arguments to state that EU's initiative of making the airline companies buy carbon permits according to the EU emissions trading scheme is illegal.
Four major airline companies already support this strategy, saying that the controversial scheme violates the main principles of international law, and can trigger significant financial losses.
If US companies didn't play their cards right and were dismissed by the European Court of Justice, China plans to follow a different path.
Instead of questioning the lawfulness of this radical measure, the airline companies are eager to exploit the potential of the Kyoto Protocol, which indicates different emission-cutting standards for developed or developing countries.
As a way of blocking China's powerful argument, European authorities might rely on the fact that such regulations have to be applied to nations and governments, not to private airline companies.
Several countries have put enough pressure on the shoulders of the officials from Brussels to exclude the non-EU airlines from the emissions trading scheme. Despite this fact, it seems that this matter will be solved in court, since authorities don't plan to abandon the regulations.
As a matter of fact, the EU states that such a legal framework is justified, taking into consideration that 3% of the total amount of emissions that reach the atmosphere are the result of airline companies.
On the other hand, the future appears to be very bleak, with scientists estimating that airline traffic will increase significantly within the next decades.
As we speak, China is ready for its first important battle.
"We are in preparation for the lawsuit and hope to file as early as possible – hopefully by the end of this year," stated Chai Haibo, president of the China Air Transport Association (CATA) for the Financial Times.