II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1956 

To prohibit operators of civil aircraft of the United States from participating 

in the European Union’s emissions trading scheme, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2011 

Mr. THUNE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To prohibit operators of civil aircraft of the United States 

from participating in the European Union’s emissions 

trading scheme, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘European Union Emis5 sions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The European Union has unilaterally im9 posed an emissions trading scheme (in this section 

10 referred to as the ‘‘ETS’’) on non-European Union 


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1 aircraft flying to and from, as well as within, Eu2 rope. 

3 (2) United States airlines and other United 

4 States aircraft operators will be required under the 

5 ETS to pay for European Union emissions allow6 ances for aircraft operations within the United 

7 States, over other non-European Union countries, 

8 and in international airspace for flights serving the 

9 European Union. 

10 (3) The European Union’s extraterritorial ac11 tion is inconsistent with long-established inter12 national law and practice, including the Chicago 

13 Convention of 1944 and the Air Transport Agree14 ment between the United States and the European 

15 Union and its member states, and directly infringes 

16 on the sovereignty of the United States. 

17 (4) The European Union’s action undermines 

18 ongoing efforts at the International Civil Aviation 

19 Organization to develop a unified, worldwide ap20 proach to reducing aircraft greenhouse gas emissions 

21 and has generated unnecessary friction within the 

22 international civil aviation community as it endeav23 ors to reduce such emissions. 

24 (5) The European Union and its member states 

25 should instead work with other contracting states of 


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1 the International Civil Aviation Organization to de2 velop such an approach. 

3 (6) There is no assurance that ETS revenues 

4 will be used for aviation environmental purposes by 

5 the European Union member states that will collect 

6 them. 

7 (7) The United States Government expressed 

8 these and other serious objections relating to the 

9 ETS to representatives of the European Union and 

10 its member states during June 2011, but has not re11 ceived satisfactory answers to those objections. 

12 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPATION IN THE EURO13 PEAN UNION’S EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME. 

14 The Secretary of Transportation shall prohibit an op15 erator of a civil aircraft of the United States from partici16 pating in any emissions trading scheme unilaterally estab17 lished by the European Union in any case in which the 

18 Secretary determines the prohibition to be, and in a man19 ner that is, in the public interest. 

20 SEC. 4. NEGOTIATIONS. 

21 The Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator 

22 of the Federal Aviation Administration, and other appro23 priate officials of the United States Government shall, as 

24 appropriate, use their authority to conduct international 

25 negotiations and take other actions in the public interest 


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1 to ensure that operators of civil aircraft of the United 

2 States are held harmless from any emissions trading 

3 scheme unilaterally established by the European Union. 

4 SEC. 5. CIVIL AIRCRAFT OF THE UNITED STATES DEFINED. 

5 In this Act, the term ‘‘civil aircraft of the United 

6 States’’ has the meaning given that term under section 

7 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code. 

Æ 


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