The Union Cabinet is likely to soon pass a resolution endorsing the fact that Indian airliners would not share their specific carbon emission data with European Union (EU) authorities. This will be the first time since the imbroglio began over the buzz that government was going to officially communicate to the EU that it would not adhere to the latter’s changed emission trading system (ETS) laws.

While around 35 countries have refused to follow the EU’s new directives on carbon emission, only India and China have even refused to share their carbon emission data with Brussels. The government is also likely to indicate it is open to the idea of reviewing all the separate bilateral agreements on civil aviation that India has with each of the 27 member-states of the EU, a senior official involved with the issue told Business Standard.

The government has also hinted at strong retaliation if the EU imposes severe penalties on Indian air carriers. The official noted the number of flights European airlines operate in India are more than thrice the number that India operates to Europe. Also not ruled out is taking the issue to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement body, as the “last resort”. 

“The Cabinet will endorse the decision that India will not share its data. If need be, we are also open to the idea of reviewing the bilateral arrangements on aviation with each of the member-states and find an amicable solution to this problem. We are open to sit on the negotiating table and explore ways to mitigate the issue,” the official, who refused to be identified, said.

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