BRUSSELS, May 12 (UPI) -- China says it will join the United States in opposing European Union carbon cap-and-trade regulations for foreign airlines flying in and out of Europe.
A senior Chinese official, speaking at an aviation forum in Beijing Wednesday, said his country's airlines should get special treatment because China is still a relatively poor country, Euobserver reported.
"The EU needs to take into account the different situations of developing and developed countries ... . So far they are insisting on carrying on with the plan," Li Jiaxiang, chief of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said.
Beginning Jan. 1, all airlines flying in and out of EU nations will have to cut aircraft emissions to fit the new limits or buy bigger carbon caps under the framework of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
The United States also opposes the plan, and American Airlines is fighting the decision in international courts.
The chairman of China's airline trade lobby said his organization is "ready to sue the EU at any time."
"All the Chinese airlines are against this plan -- it is not legally binding and it is only useful in Europe," he said.
China's CAAC estimates the scheme will cost its airlines about $121 million in 2012 and $455 million annually by 2020.
