The customer always pays, Europe or the US, airlines' latest fee hike and the flaws of fat cat 'carbon trading' schemes

1/4/12, "Airlines’ latest fee hike exposes flaws of carbon trading," Houston Chronicle, Loren Steffy, via Tom Nelson

"The trading scheme works much the same way that one proposed in the U.S. would. It’s supposed to encourage companies, in this case airlines, to reduce their carbon footprints by requiring them to purchase carbon credits when they exceed emissions limits. Those that come in under the limits can trade credits.

The idea of carbon trading lends itself to abuse by traders and companies who will, of course, try to game the system. But in this case, we’re talking about airlines, so the response is much more predictable. Some carriers are simply refusing to pay, while others, including Delta Air Lines, are tacking on yet another fee and passing the cost directly to passengers."...

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