The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, applauds passage of the bipartisan Thune-McCaskill European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) Prohibition Act (S. 1956) by the U.S. House of Representatives today. S. 1956 provides the U.S. Secretary of Transportation with the authority to prohibit U.S. carriers from participating in the EU ETS. The legislation will now be sent to the president.

“We urge President Obama to swiftly sign this bill into law. By doing so, he will protect U.S. air carriers from paying an illegal tax and safeguard American jobs and the sovereignty of our nation,” said ALPA president, Capt. Lee Moak. “We thank members of Congress for supporting this bill, which will allow the International Civil Aviation Organization [ICAO] to focus its efforts on creating a global solution to reducing aircraft emissions.”

Under the EU ETS, all airlines using EU airports would be required to pay significant taxes for each ton of carbon used over historical emissions. The EU ETS could cost U.S. carriers an estimated $3.1 billion over the next 10 years, which could lead to lost airline jobs.

Yesterday, the European Commission proposed “freezing” the application of the EU ETS for flights to or from Europe until after the triennial ICAO meeting in October 2013. The proposal comes after tremendous pressure from ALPA, Congress, airlines, consumers, and other aviation organizations to protect airlines from the EU ETS.

ALPA has been in strong support of the EU ETS Prohibition Act (S. 1956) since its introduction. The Senate unanimously passed the bill in September.