The European Commission has, today, taken an important step in preparing for the full inclusion of aviation in the EU's emissions trading system (EU ETS) from 1 January next year. The European Commission has decided on the historical aviation emissions which will be used to calculate the number of aviation allowances to be available from 2012.

Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, said: "Emissions from aviation are growing faster than from any other sector, and all forecasts indicate they will continue to do so under business as usual conditions. Firm action is needed. By publishing the data on which allocations will be based, we prepare for the full inclusion of aviation in the emissions trading system."

Read more:

• IP/11/259: Inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS: Commission publishes historical emissions data on which allocations will be based

• MEMO/11/139: Questions & Answers on historic aviation emissions and the inclusion of aviation in the EU's Emission Trading System (EU ETS)