India formally joined China in asking its airlines to boycott the European Union's carbon scheme, confirming what a senior Indian government source previously told Reuters and stoking a diplomatic row over the issue. "Though the European Union (EU) has directed Indian carriers to submit emission details of their aircraft by March 31, 2012, no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government," India's civil aviation minister Ajit Singh said on Thursday.
"Hence the imposition of a carbon tax does not arise," Singh told lawmakers in a written reply. The European Commission was not immediately available to comment. India's opposition to the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) could damage the chances of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) it is negotiating with the EU. On Monday, a senior government official told Reuters that India would ask local airlines not to buy carbon credits from or share emissions data with the bloc.
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