U.S. airlines contest tax on carbon emisisions:
BRUSSELS — When the European Union’s highest court hears arguments on Tuesday that Europe should not charge American airlines for their carbon emissions, it will be a showdown between environmental protection and cold cash.
Starting Jan. 1, the union intends to expand its emissions tradingsystem to cover emissions from most flights that touch down in, or take off from, European airports. That means even foreign airlines will have to buy some of their carbon permits from traders and European governments.
I think this has important implications for global Environmental cooperation. Viewing globalisation as a consequence of network organisation, the tax adresses the nodes of the global aviation network. Thus the law functions in the intersection of the nation state and the space of flows.
