Following up on this airline news, Planet Ark reports:

The European Union’s executive arm approved plans on Wednesday to include aviation in its emissions trading system, giving international flights in and out of the EU a one-year reprieve before they have to join.

Intra-EU flights will join the scheme, aimed at cutting global air pollution, in 2011. Flights into and out of the bloc will be included the following year, giving non-EU carriers time to prepare and see how the scheme works.

More articles here and here and here. Airlines’ “cautious welcome” here. Greens’ skeptical reactions here and here and here.

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