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Air Carrier Pollution Fee

Now that governments understand the urgency of combating global warming, private industry of all types is starting to feel the squeeze.

Most recently, the European Union announced it was considering capping emissions for all air carriers flying in and out of European air space – a proposal they say is needed since air travel is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. Without major changes, they warn, emissions from European airports could more than double by the year 2020.

The airline industry is fighting the proposal, claiming that it would have to raise airfares as much as $50 per flight under the stringent new rules, which would be based on the EU’s carbon trading program under the Kyoto Protocol (which currently exempts airlines). The plan would allow airlines that emit less than the allotted amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses to sell their surplus allotment and require those that go over the limit to purchase carbon permits.

Aviation emissions are considered particularly damaging to the planet because they occur high in the atmosphere, where they can do up to four times as much harm as emissions released closer to the ground.

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To find out more about what you can do to slow global warming, visit www.fightglobalwarming.com.       

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org