China says says EU airline CO2 cap should protect poor countries

BEIJING May 11 (Reuters) - Plans by the European Union to impose a carbon emissions cap on airlines should reflect the differences between developed and developing nations, said the head of China's aviation regulator on Wednesday.

"The EU needs to take into account the different situations of developing and developed countries," Li Jiaxiang, the head of the Civial Aviation Administration of China, said on the sidelines of a forum in Beijing.

He said China was already in talks with the European Union to try to resolve the situation.

"So far they are insisting on carrying on with the plan," he said.

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme plans to cap the emissions of all airlines flying in and out of Europe beginning on January 1, 2012.

CAAC has estimated that it could cost China's airlines as much as 800 million yuan ($123 million) in the first year and 3 billion yuan by 2020. ($1 = 6.492 yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan and David Stanway; Editing by Ken Wills)