A bill that aims to shield U.S. airlines from having to participate in the European Union’s controversial cap-and-trade emissions program cleared a key vote Tuesday in the Senate.
The vote marks a noteworthy step in U.S.-led efforts to blunt the cap-and-trade program, which forces all airlines using European Union airports to acquire “allowances” for their carbon dioxide emissions. U.S. airlines say the requirement will cost them about $3 billion between now and 2020.
Tuesday’s vote coincides with a two-day meeting, hosted this week by the U.S. State Department and Transportation Department, aimed at finding alternatives to the E.U.’s cap-and-trade program. The U.S. invited officials from more than a dozen countries outside of the E.U. to determine whether a global standard could be developed under the umbrella of a United Nations agency.
