Airbus fully supports China's stance in opposing the European Union's plan to tax international airlines under its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), Chief Operating Officer-Customers John Leahy said Tuesday in Beijing.

Leahy said that Airbus shares China's stance on the matter and believes that the EU practice is improper even though the ETS was designed to reduce carbon emissions.

From Jan. 1, the EU began charging airlines using EU airports for carbon emissions based on the ETS, although the first payment will not be due until April 30, 2013.

The unilateral move by the EU is unacceptable to other countries and must be corrected, Leahy said at the 68th annual conference of the International Air Transport Association.

Leahy said a global solution under the framework of the International Civil Aviation Organization should be worked out on the matter.

Chinese and U.S. aviation authorities and industry associations have repeatedly voiced opposition to the ETS, urging the EU to take a global and comprehensive approach to the issue.

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