Four Major Airlines Agree to Plan to Cap Emissions

British Airways, Air France/KLM, Cathay Pacific, and Virgin Atlantic are supporting a plan to create a global cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from airlines, which account for 2 percent of global CO2 emissions. The agreement, worked out with the Climate Group — a non-profit organization that advises companies on reducing carbon pollution — marks the first time that major airlines have agreed to support a plan that would limit emissions from aviation and establish a carbon trading scheme. The plan is designed to become part of a global climate agreement that officials hope to conclude later this year in Copenhagen. Under the plan, which was to be presented Monday at a U.N. climate meeting in Bonn, nations would agree to a cap on airline emissions and then auction permits to airline companies. If the aviation firms produce fewer emissions than their allotment — by, for example, using more biofuels or adopting more efficient engines — they could sell their unused allotment on an international market to other carriers.