The European Commission has announced that the aviation industry is to be fully included in the European Union's (EU) emissions trading scheme (ETS) from 1 January 2012.

Historical aviation emissions have been decided in order to calculate the number of aviation allowances that will be available from 2012. Data from Eurocontrol - the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation - and actual fuel consumption information has been used to determine the historic emissions.

European commissioner for climate action Connie Hedegaard said: "Emissions from aviation are growing faster than from any other sector, and all forecasts indicate they will continue to do so under business as usual conditions. "Firm action is needed. By publishing the data on which allocations will be based, we prepare for the full inclusion of aviation in the emissions trading system."