Boeing has backed arch-rival Airbus’s criticism of EU plans to charge airlines for CO2 emitted during flights, saying its unilateral approach to tackling the sector’s output will damage the industry.

Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois said earlier this month that China had frozen an order for 10 planes because of the EU’s controversial carbon levy on flights in and out of the bloc, although Beijing later denied that the issue was behind the order delay.

Gallois was also among the signatories of open letters sent to EU leaders warning the EU’s stance would lead to a trade war with other nations and advising that Brussels should instead work towards a global emissions reduction solution through the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Yesterday, Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, sided with Airbus, telling news agency Reuters the EU scheme should be halted.

“I don’t think the European ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) approach is the right one,” he said. “We need to have a standstill on this and work with ICAO and get some international rules in place that everyone can sign up to, and ones that will drive us to make the investments we need to improve the efficiency of airplanes.”

In over a decade of negotiations ICAO has yet to come up with mandatory regulations, but countries have agreed non-binding commitments to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 per cent annually through to 2020, cap net emissions from that date, and cut net emissions in half by 2050.

But with aviation emissions currently at around three per cent of the global total – roughly the same contribution as the entire UK – and expected to quadruple by 2050, Brussels concluded that the voluntary regime was unlikely to deliver required emissions cuts.

Consequently, from the beginning of this year airlines have had to purchase carbon credits as part of the EU’s ETS to cover CO2 emitted in all flights in and out of Europe.

Carriers will receive 85 per cent of the permits they need for free in the first year and the EU has said it will exempt airlines from other countries if equivalent measures are adopted.

However, despite a failed lawsuit to have the scheme declared illegal, aviation leaders are continuing to challenge the EU’s position. Chinese airlines have reportedly been banned from complying with the legislation, while Indian carriers have been advised by their government not to submit emissions data by the March 31 deadline.

Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh told parliament yesterday that “no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government”.

Meanwhile, chief executives from 16 aviation companies and organisations including Boeing, Airbus, and Rolls-Royce signed a declaration highlighting the sector’s “strong track record of fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions savings” at the Aviation and Environment summit in Geneva.

It states that air transport is a “strategic contributor to sustainable development”, supporting over 56 million jobs and generating over $2.2tr of global GDP.

Paul Steele, executive director of the Air Transport Action Group, which hosted the summit, said governments should contribute more to the industry’s sustainable development by supporting research into greener fuels, funding supporting infrastructure, and working towards a global emissions reduction agreement through ICAO.

“Aviation is committed to addressing its environmental footprint,” he said. “But any effort to do that must be properly designed and well thought through to avoid competitive distortions and the diplomatic tensions that we are now seeing because of the European Emission Trading Scheme. We will be the ones stuck in the middle of a trade war and that will help no one.

“Let’s ensure that governments get around the table at ICAO and build a truly global scheme that will incentivise efficiency, be acceptable to all governments and – most importantly – actually reduce emissions.”

The news came as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) also warned the airline industry could suffer losses of more than $5bn if oil prices top $150 a barrel.