European Union plans to curb greenhouse emissions from flying are "totally inadequate", environmental campaigners warned today.
The EU intends to include the aviation industry in its Emissions Trading Scheme, which limits the amount of carbon dioxide companies can produce and forces them to buy extra allowances if they exceed their allocated permits.
But scientists from climate change research organisation the Tyndall Centre warned the proposals must be significantly strengthened if they are to help meet the commitment to prevent temperatures rising more than two degrees.
Friends of the Earth aviation campaigner Richard Dyer
The EU plans to include aviation in the emissions trading scheme for flights within Europe by 2011 and on all flights departing or arriving in the EU from 2012.
The Tyndall Centre's report for Friends of the Earth, Aviation in a Low-Carbon EU, said the scheme must be introduced by 2010 at the latest, and warned expected prices for carbon dioxide permits would have no impact on the price of air travel.
The climate change experts recommended the carbon permits should be auctioned to airlines rather than given away for free, and - like other industries - aviation emissions should be measured against 1990 levels, even though the industry has expanded massively since then.
Aeroplanes and other parts of the aviation industry must also be made more efficient more quickly, Friends of the Earth said.
Friends aviation campaigner Richard Dyer said: "Current proposals to include aviation within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme are a totally inadequate response to the threat that the growth in aviation emissions poses to efforts to tackle climate change.
The organisation wants to see additional measures to tackle emissions from flying, such as a tax on aeroplane fuel and VAT on air tickets.