Seven leading European aviation companies have written to political leaders complaining about a recently introduced EU carbon tax, BBC reported. The signatories, which include Airbus, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, argue that the pollution levy threatens jobs and trade.

They are concerned about trade-related retaliation by countries not complying with the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). China and the US both oppose the tax.

"The measure is threatening more than 1,000 jobs (at Airbus) and another thousand through the supply chain," Airbus CEO Thomas Enders is quoted as saying.

China is blocking orders for at least $12 billion worth of Airbus jets to protest the European Union's emissions trading fees, the plane maker said Thursday, AP reported.

Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said 35 orders by Chinese airlines for A330 planes are on hold because China's government is refusing to approve them. He said orders for another 10 A380 super jumbos are also under threat, and that the combined list prices of the aircraft is $12 billion.

Louis Gallois, CEO of Airbus parent EADS, urged the EU to reconsider the carbon pricing plan, saying that "we are worried that this conflict is becoming a commercial war."

The emissions trading system went into effect at the start of the year. Airlines flying to or from Europe must obtain certificates for carbon dioxide emissions.

They will get free credits to cover most flights this year but must buy or trade for credits to cover the rest.

The United States, China, Russia, India and many other countries are opposed and say the bloc cannot impose taxes on flights outside its own airspace.

Airlines in China have been disallowed to join the European Union's Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) that aimed to cut carbon emission since February, BBC reported. Chinese airlines have also been banned from increasing fares or adding new charges for the scheme.

ETS, implemented from Jan. 1, levies a charge on flights in EU airspaces, a practice that China and other countries such as the U.S. and Canada have severely criticized on ground of increasing costs.

(China.org.cn March 13, 2012)

據英國廣播公司報道，近日，空中客車公司、英國航空公司、和英國維珍大西洋航空公司等歐洲七大航空公司聯名寫信給歐洲政治領導人，表達對新近實施的歐盟碳排放稅政策的不滿。他們表示，執行這一排污收費制度將使就業崗位及與相關國家的貿易受到威脅。

他們擔心中國和美國等反對排放交易機制的國家可能會采取貿易報復行動。

空客首席執行官托馬斯恩德斯稱：“該機制會使空客1000多個就業崗位以及供應鏈中的1000個崗位受到威脅。”

據美聯社報道，空客公司周四透露，中國擱置了與其達成的價值至少120億美元的飛機訂單，以此來抗議歐盟征收碳排放稅。

空客發言人斯蒂芬·施法拉斯稱，來自中國航空公司的35架A330客機訂單以及10架A380大飛機訂單因為中國政府拒絕批準而擱置，總價值達120億美元。

空客母公司歐洲宇航防務集團首席執行官路易斯·加洛瓦敦促歐盟重新考慮碳稅征收事宜，并表示：“我們擔心該爭端會發展成為一場商業戰。”

歐盟碳排放交易體系于今年年初生效。往返歐洲的所有航空公司必須獲得二氧化碳排放許可證。

據悉，今年的大部分航班會獲得免費優惠，但必須購買或兌換剩余的航班優惠額以便為其余航班支付稅金。

美國﹑中國﹑俄羅斯﹑印度以及其它許多國家都對該做法持反對態度，因為歐盟無權向其空域以外的航班征稅。

據英國廣播公司報道，中國自今年二月起禁止所有國內航空公司參與歐盟旨在減排而推出的“碳排放交易機制（ETS）”。國內航空公司還被禁止因ETS而提高票價或向乘客征收其他費用。

ETS今年1月1日起實施，征費對象為所有進入歐盟領空的飛機。ETS遭到了包括中國、美國和加拿大在內的其他國家猛烈批評，理由是該做法增加了運輸成本。