Sen. Thune hopeful on Obama signing bill to thwart EU carbon rule

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said Wednesday that he sees “encouraging signs” President Obama will sign legislation that would shield U.S. airlines from paying European Union carbon emissions fees.

Thune is co-sponsor of the bipartisan bill that cleared the House easily Tuesday after sailing through the Senate in September. The White House has not taken a position on the bill.

“I am hoping he will [sign it]. I have heard encouraging signs that perhaps he will,” Thune said.

He said those signs have not come from the White House. But administration officials have criticized application of the EU emissions rules to U.S.-based airlines, and the EU has faced pressure from other nations too.

EU officials announced Monday that they would delay fees on flights in and out of Europe for a year, in order to give a United Nations body time to reach a global deal on aviation emissions.

Thune on Wednesday pressed the White House to sign the legislation over the objections of some environmentalists.

“He is going to get a lot of pressure from his left flank not to sign it in light of the EU’s announcement, but I still think it is really important for our country to be on record. The best way to do that is for us to have legislation out there that addresses this if in fact the EU decides, after giving this cooling off period or whatever they are going to call it, if they decide to go back and try and reinstate it,” Thune told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday.

EU officials are freezing application of the rules to foreign airlines for a year to give the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization time to reach a global agreement.