Airline carbon tax will burden poor countries: BASIC

NEW DELHI: The BASIC countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - are opposed to any move of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on carbon emission tax on airlines in the garb of offsetting emission in the aviation sector as they believe it would impose inappropriate economic burden on developing countries.

The unanimous stand emerged during the two-day ministerial meeting of the BASIC group here. The grouping also expressed its concerns over the recent draft proposal of the ICAO and its plan to cap the aviation sector's emission by introducing a market-based mechanism.

Though aviation was not included in the Paris climate agreement that was adopted by 195 countries in December last year, the ICAO is scheduled to meet in September to finalise such a taxation regime.


Union environment and climate change minister Prakash Javadekar said, "We are opposed to any proposal of developed countries to bring such tax in a different name in the airline sector...(Uski khilafat humne ki hai)".

Javadekar, who represented India in the BASIC group meeting, said, "It (the move) will impose inappropriate economic burden on developing countries. We have, therefore, asked the ICAO that it must develop global market measures (to curb emission in aviation sector) that must align with the spirit of the Paris Agreement".

Under the Paris climate agreement, all the countries are supposed to take measures voluntarily as per their national climate action plans.