Under an agreement reached Thursday, the European Union will set quotas on carbon dioxide, the main gas that causes global warming, on all airlines -- those from Europe and abroad -- from 2012.

They would then have to pay for these permits to pollute from 2013.

"This decision is going to cost us 4.8 billion euros a year," said Francoise Herbert, spokeswoman at the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which represents 33 firms including Air France-KLM, British Airways and Lufthansa.

"It all has to be compared with the 3.7 billion euros profit that our companies made in 2007, which was a very good year. And 2008 is looking quite different with the hike in fuel prices," she said.

The AEA believes the quota system is essentially a tax that will encourage foreign airlines to avoid the 27 nation EU whenever possible.

"Companies flying from New York to Hong Kong will transit by Dubai rather than Frankfurt," Herbert said. "European airports are likely to suffer."

Carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft in Europe are to be limited in 2012 to 97 percent of their levels in 2005, dropping further to 95 percent by 2020, under the EU agreement.

Air transport accounts for about three percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

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