As of 2012, airlines flying from or to an EU country will have to limit emissions to 97 percent of 2005 levels, with further reductions later. Including non-European carriers, this opens a new front in the fight against global warming.

The companies are furious. An industry body said the European scheme could add 6 million euros a year to the cost of a typical regional airline. With high oil prices and the economic crisis reducing customer demand, experts predict at least 70 global airline bankruptcies for the year.

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