MEMO [Company, school, or project identifier or logo]
While, apparently, almost everyone in the world admits that the environment should be treated more responsibly, not many people act accordingly. As the story with EU carbon tax shows, not only does it apply to individuals, but also to the whole countries – even (or first of all) the most influential ones in the world. EU carbon tax for airlines, if signed, would oblige airline, whose flights cross EU airspace, to pay a tax on carbon emissions proportionally to the volumes of emissions – that is what European airlines do. The world immediately forgot about its environment-wise consciousness and objected the law. The resistance was pretty much led by Barack Obama, a man, whose responsible approach to environment was a part of his electioneering. China followed the suit, claiming that the legislation would breach international law.
The irony here is that harm for the airlines is not that obvious: amazingly, European airlines actually managed to make profits on it, fully passing the costs on the customers, who seem to accept it well. What is really happening, is that those who prefer to fly pay the costs of negative externality their chosen mean of transportation produce, which, in my opinion, is perfectly fair.
However, refusing to hold responsible for the emissions produced elsewhere, while ripping all the benefits associated with these emissions means nothing else but freeriding. And to the argument that ‘they do the same in our airspace’, I would respond ‘so introduce the similar legislation for your airspace”.
