Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.) is proposing legislation calling for a tax of 50 cents a gallon on gas, including jet fuel, a $50 per ton carbon tax on burning oil, coal or natural gas along with reducing or eliminating interest tax deductions on 3,000+-square-foot homes. Smaller homes would retain all deductions while 4,200+-square-foot homes would have not such tax deduction.
Calling it a “discussion draft,” Dingell outlined his proposal to the Associated Press. The chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee said regardless, tackling global warming will cause significant pain.
Later, the Washington Post reported legislators moved ahead with proposals to impose mandatory caps on greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions signaling Congressional intent to move on climate change despite presidential opposition. House Energy and Commerce Committee dems issued a white paper calling to the government to impose allowances as part of a cap-and-trade scheme designed to reduce GHGs by up to 80 percent. The plan must still gain support from Republicans in both the House and Senate.
December was set for the issuance of a bi-partisan Senate bill which would springboard off a previous bill, co-authored by Independent Senator Joe Lieberman and Republican power house John Warner. Their offering targets a 70-percent reduction in GHGs by 2050.
Ironically, Dingell would use the revenues raised for highway construction, according to the AP, in addition to mass transit. However, the fund could also be used for reduction in payroll tax, Social Security payments or health programs. It could also go to help the poor pay energy bills.
The AP reported that economists say such taxes are more efficient than cap-and-trade schemes now being proposed. Previous efforts to impose such taxes have met with universal failure over the last few decades.
Despite criticism that ICAO abdicated its emissions role assigned by the Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. Air Transport Association (ATA) applauded the outcome of the recent ICAO meeting in Montreal which focused on the environment. Related Story  “ICAO’s action further affirms its leadership on environmental issues involving international aviation,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. “ICAO’s comprehensive plan will facilitate critical advances in air traffic management, operations, alternative fuels, research and development and other measures designed to reduce fuel burn and greenhouse gas emissions, thereby bringing further improvements on a global basis.”
The U.S. wanted ICAO to endorse a plan in which individual nations would decide how they would deal with emissions. Consequently, Europe is moving ahead with its plans to impose emissions trading scheme on aviation, including flights into Europe from abroad, by 2012. European airports fear that such a plan would make them less competitive for connections as passenger bypass them.
A European-imposed emissions scheme will likely result in legal actions brought by states who charge it is against international law, according to the U.S.’s representative to the European Union, who indicated Europe does not have the authority to impose unilateral solutions. Instead, he thinks both Europe and the United States should focus on non-aviation sources of carbon emissions.
May pointed out that U.S. airlines, like their international counterparts, have improved their fuel efficiency by 103 percent since 1978, resulting in commensurate reductions of carbon dioxide and other GHGs. In addition, he said the ATA board recently approved a multi-faceted climate change plan that includes a commitment for an additional 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency through 2025. “While we are committed to doing our part, the ICAO plan is needed to help address infrastructure inefficiencies on a global scale that increase delays and emissions,” he said.
For its part, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) set a target of reducing CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2020. In addition, it would convert 10 percent of fuel burn to cleaner alternatives over the next decade. It is developing best practices that would have members develop their own environmental management programs. IATA’s position calls for several actions to mitigate emissions including infrastructure, operational and technological improvements including new generation air traffic control techniques. It has called upon ICAO to develop cleaner fuel specifications as well as a technology plan and for the adoption of trading schemes only when states agree.
Munich’s airport authority is already including a Nitrous Oxide emissions fee of EUR3 ($4.20) per kilogram. The program is designed not only to get airlines to use low-NOx-emission aircraft but to kick-start manufacturers into long-term research on NOx as well as spend on technical. The program includes a reduction of fixed fees linked to max takeoff weight, to make it revenue neutral for the authority, which said it would be counterproductive to make German air transport more expensive.

The Tough Nuts to Crack
Although Europe has made airlines the international environmental bad boy, when asked to give up their cars for only a day, Britons refused, according to ibuyeco, a UK insurance firm. Its recent survey showed that 88 percent of UK residents were unaware of efforts to stem global damage from emissions.
A third of residents said they would increase their car use and only 12 percent were even aware of the International Car Free Day staged on September 22. Once made aware of it, 72 percent said they would not have taken part because of their inability to get to work, despite the fact residents feel they are doing more to be green. Three quarters of those who took part in the survey stated that public transport was not a viable alternative, predominantly blaming time implications, delays, cost and lack of convenience.
Meanwhile, a new study issued by Transport & Environment (T&E), a sustainable transport campaign group, showed European auto manufacturers have done little to cut emissions. Despite promises delivered nearly a decade ago, emissions from new cars were only down 0.2 percent last year, the worst performance in record, according to the environmental group.
New cars sold in Europe in 2006 by members of the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) emitted 160g of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometer on average, down less than half a gram on the previous year. ACEA, which accounted for 81 percent of sales in Europe, committed to reach 140g/km by 2008.
The 2006 figures for Japanese manufacturers (JAMA) stood at 161g/km followed by Korean (KAMA) producers at 164g/km on average. The overall figure for all carmakers for the average new car sold in Europe in 2006 stands at 160g/km down from 161g/km in 2005, a reduction of 0.7 percent. Evidence is emerging that carmakers have been holding fuel efficient technology back for years and are only now starting to bring it to market as the threat of regulation becomes real.
"In the first eight years of their voluntary commitment carmakers concentrated on bigger, heavier and more gas guzzling cars, and the results speak for themselves,” said T&E Program Manager Aat Peterse, charging carmakers with holding back fuel efficient technology, only releasing it now as regulations loom. “Clearly, the voluntary commitment wasn't worth the paper it was written on and regulation is needed now more than ever. The EU must stick to a legally-binding target of 120g/km by 2012 and ensure that a series of long-term targets are in place leading to 80g/km by 2020."
Boeing and General Electric have teamed with Virgin on research into bio-fuels but critics charge such demand would distort food prices.