A Study of the International Dispute on EU ETS Aviation Directive

EU ETS 항공 부분 지침에 따른 국제 분쟁에 관한 소고

The European Union (EU) has introduced the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as one of the key policies to reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions and in July 2008, they decided to include aviation in the scheme. As soon as the decision was announced the EU ETS was met by sharp opposition from world governments and international aviation. A group of US airlines, in particular, dropped a lawsuit against the British government over aviation's inclusion in the EU ETS. On 21 December, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that aviation's inclusion in the EU ETS which covers all flights arriving into and departing from the EU is legal and does not contravene international law. The scheme eventually came into effect on 1 January 2012. However, most countries are in opposition to the EU ETS and have agreed on counter-measures to undermine the EU's plan which may bring chaos to the aviation industry if such measures were to put into practice. This study therefore will analyze the likely effects that may be brought to the Korean aviation industry as a result of the inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS. Further, it hopes to contribute to the Korean aviation industry by studying other countries' counter-measures in advance.