Chinese airlines are preparing to take Brussels to court over its plan to charge carriers for carbon emissions, a Chinese industry official has said, and are also considering how they might retaliate against European airlines.

The hard line from the China Air Transport Association, which represents all major Chinese airlines, intensifies a dispute with the European Union that the head of Airbus has warned could turn into a trade war. It comes shortly before the EU’s January 1 start date for bringing the aviation sector into its emissions trading scheme.

Cai Haibo, deputy secretary-general with CATA, said it intended to make the legal challenge in Europe before the end of this year.

“There is no way the emission charge can be justified. It violates the basic principles of international law and infringes on other nations’ sovereignty,” Mr Cai told the Financial Times.

He said Chinese representatives had expressed their objections directly to European regulators but been dismayed by the response. “Chinese airlines have been so good to Airbus [a subsidiary of the Franco-German EADS]. But the EU turns around and tries to take more of the airlines’ money. They are not happy.”

Europe’s climate commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, expressed confidence any court would side with Brussels. “We are fully confident that our legislation is compliant with international law,” she said.

A Chinese suit, if filed, could differ from that launched by US airlines in the European Court of Justice, which questioned whether EU regulators were exceeding their jurisdiction by applying the emissions trading scheme to carriers outside their borders.

EU officials believe the Chinese would instead challenge the legality of the European policy under the Kyoto protocol, which makes a distinction between the efforts that developed and developing nations should have to make to address climate change. EU officials accept that principle but say it applies to governments and not to private companies such as air carriers.