China continues to hold the line over its opposition to the new European Union carbon tax on aviation that took effect from January 1 following the failure of a US and Canadian legal challenge in late December.

　A group of North American airlines had argued that EU the plan to include all flights landing or departing within the EU within its carbon cap-and-trade Emission Trading Scheme violated the Open Sky Agreement between Europe and North America. But on December 21 the European Court of Justice rejected the charge, in the process ruling that the ETS could be imposed on non-EU airlines and cover emissions occurring outside EU airspace.