Nearly 4000 commercial airliners will be required to participate in the EU’s emission trading scheme (ETS) from 2012, the European Commission announced in a list published last week. The list includes commercial carriers and private jet charters who fly to or from the EU, and also applies to aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus, and armed forces such as the US Navy.

The publication of the Commission brings into force legislation which was agreed in January on the inclusion of aircraft operators in the EU’s ETS. There had been strong opposition by the aviation industry against the move, with the sector fearing it would result in too heavy a burden being placed on an industry already suffering the effects of the economic crisis.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the list, is the fact that foreign airlines will also be subjected to the new rules, for flights to or from European airports, a move which has been criticised for eventually effectively subsidising the EU’s aviation industry. The Commission explained that the list would be updated on a yearly basis.

Airlines will now be required to submit their monitoring plans to their administering country by 31 August, in which details of how they intend to monitor and report emissions will be laid out. However, since there has been such a long delay in adopting the list, several countries, including the UK and Germany have now announced extensions to the proposed deadline, with monitoring set to begin on 1 January 2010.