I  had the privilege of attending the International Aviation Womens Association’s (IAWA)annual meeting in Brussels where a host of speakers from the European Aviation Safety Agency , the FAA and the European Union spoke principally about the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme, (ETS) that will include general aviation emissions by 2012.  Though they don’t call it a fuel tax, it sure smells like one.  Under the scheme, annual fuel receipts are collected on flights to any EU country and ran through an equation.  Based upon the results, you buy an allowance (bought and sold like any other commodity in the carbon market) to cover what you owe, or pay the bill.  Though the EU system is not at all satisfactory to private aircraft owners, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in June, 2009 that is even more onerous, and the Senate is currently considering its own Kerry-Boxer bill along the same lines.  Some industry leaders think the whole green house gas emissions scheme should be deferred to the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, which has experience in setting standards for global aviation matters, rather than implementing U.S. or European regional solutions.  We’re not out of the woods yet, and one thing’s for sure, the green movement isn’t going away;   it’s big business and politically correct.