Chiefs at the authority made the announcement after air monitoring results from 2004 to 2006 were published.

From 2012, airlines will be granted an annual allowance of 212,892,052 tonnes of aviation emissions, which is around 97 per cent of the average output registered between 2004 and 2006.

This will then be reduced by two per cent from 2013 to 208,502,525 tonnes.

Airlines will receive 82 per cent of this carbon dioxide allowance for free, while 15 per cent will go to the highest bidders.

European Commission chiefs have denied that the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been affected by the 2010 ash cloud, which was caused by an Icelandic volcano.

The body also suggested that air fares should not be significantly altered by the legislation.

Having been launched in 2005, the EU’s ETS is aimed at reducing emissions across Europe by 21 per cent by 2020.

The test track and workshop building at Nissan Sunderland Plant has been signed over to Gateshead College on a 20-year lease allowing these facilities to be used commercially.

One North East is investing £2.4 million to fund the lease, the refurbishment of the on-site workshop and the initial running costs of the new facility, transforming the centre into a hub for Low Carbon Vehicle development.

The centre will be the only centre of its type in Europe linked to a training facility. The £8.4 million Skills Academy for Sustainable Manufacturing and Innovation is currently under construction at the same site and will also be run by Gateshead College.

Companies, academic institutes and researchers in the low carbon vehicle industry will be able to hire the test track and refurbished workshop on a shared or exclusive basis. The test track is 3km long, has two straights which are each 1km long, a helipad, a range of road surfaces, and facilities for gradient testing and water testing.

As part of the on-site equipment there is already a range of electric vehicle charging technologies including a quick charger, a solar powered charging canopy and a standard charging post – all of which are among the 1,000 charge points being installed across the region by One North East as part of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles national ‘Plugged-In Places’ programme.

The centre is intended to become an internationally-recognised, self-sustaining facility that will be run on a commercial basis and enable the industry to develop and grow in the North East. A number of companies have already indicated their enthusiasm for using the centre.

As well as attracting companies to test and trial their new technologies in the North East, the centre will be available for use by any organisation involved in the automotive industry, including the five universities in the North East which are all carrying out cutting-edge research.

Mick Brophy, managing director of Business, Innovation and Development, at Gateshead College, said: “This is another unique first for the college as we look to improve and extend the range and scope of commercial automotive training services provided to customers not only in the North East but throughout the UK.

“This exciting move will provide us with a unique research and development facility – the only one of its type in the North – underpinning, in particular, our growing expertise and reputation in delivering bespoke training in the growing electric vehicle sector.”

Dr Colin Herron, Manufacturing and Productivity Manager at One North East said: “This unique new facility will be a major boost for training, research and development in the low carbon vehicles sector in the UK and there is real critical mass being created in the North East. This will be a unique asset for regional and national companies, and will help to create new jobs by attracting international firms to the region.”

Nissan will continue to use the centre as it develops new vehicles in Sunderland including the Nissan LEAF, the world’s first mass-market, affordable, 100% electric family car.

Janet Snaith, Head of City Business and Investment, Sunderland City Council, said: ‘Having a test track helps shows how organisations across the North East are gearing up to deliver the incentives and infrastructure for our growing Low Carbon region. Already this year we have seen the first Nissan LEAF go on sale, the first charging points going ‘live’ in Sunderland and dates for completing the Nissan battery plant and the start of LEAF manufacturing are getting closer.
 
‘Now, with this research and development facility, we see another exciting step forward that links in with the City Council’s Economic Master plan that is seeing our growth as a low carbon centre.’

A steering group has been established to help develop the facility and includes university representatives and key low carbon vehicles companies including Smith Electric Vehicles, and pioneering Northumberland firm AVID Vehicles, which is currently developing several new electric vehicles.

Tyne and Wear Metro release details of the frequent, high quality bus service and special trains it will provide during a Major Line Closure next month.

Metro is undergoing extensive modernisation work which will see services between Byker and Tynemouth stations suspended between Saturday 12th March and Sunday 3rd April.

Metro is publicising plans for replacement buses during this time, to reassure passengers that disruption will be as minimal as possible.
 
A frequent, high quality bus replacement service numbered 900 has been arranged for our passengers. These double-decker buses will operate every 12 minutes between Byker and Tynemouth, calling at or near to all Metro stations on the closed section of line from the normal first to last train times. The replacement buses will include low level access and be of a high standard – modern, clean and spacious, powered by a euro III emission standard (as a minimum) engines.

There will be extra buses running between North Shields and Tynemouth, from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday, and between Wallsend and Byker, at peak times Monday to Friday. In addition to this extra trains will be running from Tynemouth towards Newcastle city centre via Four Lane Ends. The shortest journey into Newcastle city centre from North Shields and Tynemouth during the major line closure will be by Metro from Tynemouth via Four Lane Ends.  The bus services have been designed so that the highest demand areas such as Wallsend and Byker have additional services when they need them most.

Metro stations between and including Chillingham Road and North Shields will be closed during the refurbishment. Passengers who usually purchase their tickets at these stations can buy them on board the bus replacement service. Metro season tickets will also be valid.

This vital modernisation project is part of the £385m Metro: all change programme which will see Nexus, which owns and manages Metro, modernise stations, trains and infrastructure over the next 11 years.  Metro has carefully planned a comprehensive bus replacement service that will operate as close as possible to normal Metro timetables to ensure disruption to passenger travel is kept to a minimum.

Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, which own and manages Metro, said: “The modernisation of the line between Byker and Tynemouth is vital to secure Metro’s future, and the least disruptive way to do the work is to close it for a concentrated period. We want to make sure the bus service is as good as it can be and reflects the journeys passengers need to make.

Managing Director of Metro operator DB Regio Tyne and Wear, Richard McClean, said: “We are aware that this is a prolonged closure and want to assure passengers we are doing everything we possibly can to ensure they will get to their destination as they would normally. We have been planning alternative methods of transportation during the period of closure for some time now – passenger needs are paramount and we will be doing everything we can to assist public travel during this period.”

Visit www.nexus.org.uk/metro for further details and follow @My_Metro on Twitter for regular service updates throughout this period and beyond.

Passengers can also contact the North East Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 for advice on best way to travel and how to plan their journey on the metro and other forms of transport.

Passengers can also contact Metro’s local call centre number on 0191 202 0747