UK govt wants airlines in carbon trading scheme

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LONDON, December 2 (Reuters) - The British government said on Tuesday, it wanted airlines included in a European scheme to cut carbon emissions but business leaders voiced scepticism about the UK’s ability to hit its emission reduction targets.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband told a conference held by British lobby group the CBI that ministers believed it was important that aviation was involved in UK and European initiatives to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2020 through carbon trading.

“We are really looking for a way in which carbon emissions of air and road transport can be taken into account,” Miliband said.

“In relation to aviation, probably the most efficient way of doing this is its inclusion in the European ETS (carbon emissions trading scheme).”

Miliband said the government was doing all it could to meet the emissions target. Yet in a show of hands at the conference, nearly all but a few of the 200 or so delegates, who included chief executives from some of the UK’s biggest companies, indicated they believed ministers would fail to reach their goals.

CBI Director-General Richard Lambert said: “We must not let the global economic crisis become an excuse for inaction on climate change. Now, more than ever, we need to secure a binding EU climate change deal.”

Miliband acknowledged the scepticism, but said his department was resolved to act “to ensure we do all we can to meet our targets”.

(Reporting by Phil Waller; Editing by Mike Nesbit)