China says it is prohibiting its airlines from paying a new European Union tax on carbon emissions designed to pay for the cost of global climate warming.

The new tax took effect January 1, although the EU is not collecting payments from it until next year. But China said Monday its air carriers are barred from paying the tax without government permission.

More than two dozen countries have also voiced their opposition to the tax, including Russia, India and the United States.

The Beijing government said it opposes Europe's attempt to tax non-EU airlines on their flights into and out of the continent. An airline industry trade group called the plan “unreasonable and illegal.”

The EU plan calls for the airlines to obtain certificates for their carbon dioxide emissions, allowing them to get free credits covering most flights this year, but also requiring them to buy or trade for credits to cover the remainder. The EU says European and non-European airlines are all covered equally by the tax and that it is necessary to help curb pollution.