LONDON, England - September 18, 2011 - British Airways faces a bill of nearly 50 million euros, the highest of any airline, when carriers around the world are brought into the European Union’s carbon emissions trading scheme next year, a new study estimates.

But BA and other large European carriers will face a relatively smaller burden than their rivals in the U.S. and China, because they should get an average of 81% of the carbon allowances needed under the scheme for free. The Chinese and Amerikan carriers will only get an average of up to 64%, says the report by Thomson Reuters Point Carbon, the energy research firm.

The airline industry’s total bill is expected to be $1.5 billion at today’s carbon prices, according to the study. The whole sector may only make a $4 billion profit this year, the International Air Transport Association has forecast.

“Compared to airlines’ annual fuel bills, these additional costs are minor, but compared to profits they are considerable,” said Andreas Arvanitakis, Thomson Reuters Point Carbon associate director. “The question is how much of the cost can be passed (on) to passengers and cargo clients.”