EU: Airline CO2 tax 'less than a coffee'

The EU's climate commissioner played down the impact of the controversial carbon tax being imposed by the bloc on airlines, saying Friday it would cost less than a cup of coffee per passenger. With the tax, sharply criticised by China and the United States, "a flight from Beijing to Frankfurt for example will cost around an extra two euros per passenger," Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard told the French daily Les Echos. "In other words, an amount less than that of a cup of coffee at the airport," she added. With the dispute intensifying over the tax, Hedegaard said it was important to keep in mind a sense of proportion. Last month plane maker Airbus, plus half a dozen airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa, and Air France wrote a letter to the European Commission warning the tax could cost them billions of dollars in lost orders and business and lead to the loss of the thousands of jobs. Airbus's parent company EADS said the plane maker is suffering retaliatory blocking of orders from China over the tax. The carbon tax imposed on airlines by the European Union came into effect on January 1, but carriers will begin receiving bills only in 2013 after this year's carbon emissions have been assessed. Hedegaard's cost estimate was considerably lower than previous Commission estimates that it prompt carriers to add between 4.0 and 24 euros ($5.25 and $31.50) to the price of a round-trip long-haul flight. More than two dozen countries, including China, Russia and the United States, have opposed the EU move, saying it violates international law. But the EU has said the tax will help it achieve a goal of cutting carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and has insisted it will not back down on the plan.