A plane covered in snow can be seen through a window behind a passenger waiting in the terminal of Beijing’s international airport in this file photo of November 1, 2009. China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it hoped talks with the European Union could resolve a dispute over the airline emissions fee scheme. – Reuters pic

The comments come less than a week before Chinese and EU leaders hold a summit in Beijing, with the EU looking to China to dip into its huge foreign exchange reserves to help it tackle a debt buildup that threatens its economic stability.

The tussle over the emissions scheme, which could levy charges for carbon emissions from flights in and out of Europe, has also drawn ire from other countries, including the United States and India. They argue the EU is exceeding its legal jurisdiction by calculating the carbon cost over the whole flight, not just Europe.

“We hope that the EU ... can pay attention to China’s concerns and take a practical and constructive attitude to increase communication and coordination with all sides to find an appropriate solution that all sides can accept,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said.

“China will consider taking necessary steps in accordance with the way things develop to protect the rights of our nationals and our companies,” he told reporters at a regular news briefing.

China’s State Council, or Cabinet, said yesterday that all domestic airlines were banned from taking part in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) unless given government approval.

China was an early opponent of the EU legislation, which took effect from Jan. 1. No airline will face a bill until next year, after this year’s carbon emissions have been calculated. Initially airlines will be handed allowances to cover some 85 per cent of their emissions.

Under the scheme, airlines that do not comply may face European fines of US$130 (RM391.30) for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted for which they have not surrendered allowances. In the case of persistent offenders, the EU has the right to ban airlines from its airports.

The European Union’s executive body has said talks were ongoing with various nations to try to settle disagreements and that it was confident the scheme, which is a mainstay of the EU’s efforts to tackle climate change, would survive.

The China Air Transport Association (CATA), which last year urged China’s airlines to refuse to take part, said the scheme would cost US$123 million in the first year and more than triple that by 2020. – Reuters