As expected, some are saying " deeply frustrated » through the planned revision of the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) like the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Others, such as Ourania Georgoutsakou, Director General of Airlines for Europe (A4E), are dissatisfied with a reform that « cannot fully " à " to direct the money paid by passengers towards its climate and competitiveness policies ".
In other words, the cost of these quotas penalises European companies against competition from the Middle East or Turkey, while the contribution of European companies – €2.3 billion in 2024 and likely around €5 billion in 2030 – should be reinvested in the sector's decarbonisation and support for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production. As for the think tank Transport & Environment (T&E), the revision proposal presented last July 17th by the European Commission is " largely insufficient given the climate emergency ".
Short-haul vs long-haul flights: the dividing line
For one reason or another, their anger is focused on one issue: the plan to extend the ETS scheme from 2029 to include international flights of less than 5,000 km, whereas until now it has only applied to intra-European flights. Consequently, this carbon pricing scheme would apply to flights such as Paris–Dubai or Paris–Istanbul, but not to long-haul routes to New York and Tokyo. According to T&E, a total of 47% of aviation emissions would fall outside the scope of the scheme.;
" For the very first time, all international flights could be included in the European carbon market.said Jérôme du Boucher, aviation manager at T&E France. However, due to pressure from the sector, only some journeys would be affected, and the longest and most polluting flights would remain exempt. » A sector which, however, sees this directive as « A historical error by the EU » according to its main representative, Willie Walsh, the Director General of IATA: « The consequences will be detrimental, fuelling tensions linked to extraterritoriality, slowing global decarbonisation and weakening European competitiveness. ". " Travellers and businesses in Europe will pay the price. ", he predicted.
What Brussels replies
The accused, stand up: but what does the EU say? Since its launch in 2005, this emissions trading system " proven » according to the Commission, generating over €270 billion in revenue reinvested in innovation, industrial decarbonisation and the modernisation of the European energy system. « To ensure an economy-wide transition, all sectors must contribute their fair share to the EU's climate objectives. This requires applying an effective carbon price signal to the EU's fair share of aviation emissions. ", states the proposed directive, highlighting that aviation’s share of emissions from the EU transport sector currently stands at 14 %, representing approximately 4 % of total CO₂ emissions2 of the EU. Hence a conclusion: “ Long-haul flights fuel this growth and should be subject to a significant carbon price ".
However, the aviation sector, through IATA or Airlines for Europe, is arguing not for a European-wide quota system, but a global one, through the strengthening of the CORSIA carbon offsetting programme, a mechanism piloted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). We will engage in dialogue with European policymakers towards a more effective, non-extraterritorial approach, with full support for CORSIA and effective incentives for SAFs. », said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
The sector is banking on a strengthened CORSIA
The current limitations of CORSIA are discussed in the EU draft directive, with the Commission having assessed its environmental integrity through a report showing that « CORSIA has not been strengthened ">. This leads to the extension of the ETS to all flights departing from an airport located in the European Economic Area, up to a distance of 5,000 kilometres, encompassing the " links most at risk of leakage via matching platforms », leaving the CORSIA mechanism to regulate flights over longer distances. However, a review is planned for 2032, and « in the event that CORSIA proves to be ambitious, effective, and successful the scope of carbon pricing under the EU ETS could be limited to intra-European flights. Or, conversely, it could be extended to all flights departing from Europe if necessary.
" We are counting on your leadership to ensure that the EU ETS supports the decarbonisation of our sector and facilitates a smooth transition to an enhanced global CORSIA, in order to sustainably reduce aviation emissions worldwide. ", argued 15 European company leaders in a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the start of June.
100 billion for decarbonisation, private jets included
Integrated into a broader plan for industrial electrification and decarbonisation, the revision of the ETS system will contribute to feeding the EU ETS Innovation Fund, with 100 billion in clean energy investments expected by 2030. This is set to unlock some prospects for the advent of a SAF sector, with more than ten billion euros to be allocated to it by 2040. Other advancements are favourably received by T&E, notably measures " serious » to reduce the so-called "non-CO2" effects of aviation, i.e. those contrails that contribute to global warming just like carbon emissions. With the allocation of free quotas to airlines that manage to avoid their formation.
" This is an important step in the race to reduce aviation's overall climate impact » notes the think tank. Environmental lobbyists will also be pleased to see private jets subject to the ETS system, whereas these aircraft had largely been exempt until now.
