On October 6, Juliane Kokott, an Advocate General of the European Court of Justice handed down an opinion in a case that brings aviation, the environment, taxation and sovereignty face to face. In doing so she potentially put the US and many other concerned nations on a collision course with Europe.

In accepting that the EU has the right to include non-European airlines in its Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and that this was compatible with the provisions and principles of international law, Ms Kokott’s judicial opinion has increased the likelihood that the issue may eventually have to be resolved at the World Trade …..