All airline flights leaving or entering the European Union would have to respect carbon dioxide emission rules from 2011, according to the draft proposal, which will be presented on December 20 by the EU's executive arm.

The draft, which has been obtained by AFP, says that aircraft operators "will be able to buy allowances from other sectors in the Community scheme for use to cover their emissions" over their allocated limits.

"It would astonish us if the US and Japanese airlines accept it," said Francoise Humbert of the Association of European Airlines (AEA).

While waiting for a global system to be set up, the AEA would prefer "a system which only covers intra-European flights," she added.

The Geneva-based International Air Transport Association prefers voluntary pledges to cut emissions rather than imposed regulations but admits that emissions trading can be an effective environmental tool.

While plane emissions of carbon dioxide only account for around three percent of the global total, they have increased by 87 percent since 1990, the commission said in the draft.

If this growth level continues it could wipe out a quarter of the emission reductions required under the EU's target under the Kyoto protocol, which requires industrialised countries to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases by 5.2 percent by 2008-2012 compared with their 1990 levels.

The draft commission proposal, which must be agreed by all EU member nations and the European parliament, includes flight emissions in the more general emissions monitoring legislation due to come into effect in 2010.

"The objective of the proposal is to address the growing climate change impact attributable to aviation through the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme," the proposal says.

"Like other participants of the Community scheme, aircraft operators will have to monitor their emissions of carbon dioxide and report, by 31 March each year, to the competent authority of the administering member state."

The EU is a major player in global aviation, accounting for about half of the carbon dioxide emissions from international aviation.

The allowed emission levels will be based on the average emissions from aviation in the years 2004-2006, according to the draft.

In 2011, 90 percent of this total figure would be distributed among airlines, the figure eventually falling to 60 percent.

An emissions-trading market has been up and running since last year for energy-hungry industries to trade their emissions quotas in Europe.

The idea is to encourage green technologies and allows companies who manage to cut their emissions to trade the balance of their quotas for cash from less emissions-efficient organisations.

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