The EU is close to a formal agreement to prevent any risk that the CORSIA system, the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) global market measure to tackle CO2 emissions from the aviation sector, will replace the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as an exclusive market measure, depriving the EU of its autonomy for its future climate ambition.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States (Coreper) approved, on Wednesday 18 September, without debate, the position that the EU will defend at the ICAO General Assembly (Montreal, 24 September - 4 October) to preserve its sovereignty, while applying CORSIA, when the time comes (see EUROPE 12327/14).
The text will be submitted for formal approval, without debate, on 20 September, alongside the EU Transport Council meeting in Brussels (see other news).
Rumours had circulated about the reluctance of some Member States, including France. On Tuesday, 17 September, a French ministerial source had denied any ambiguity on the French position. "France's position is clear. It is out of the question that CORSIA should prevent us from developing a more ambitious ETS. It is necessary to find ways to link the two systems in a coherent way while maintaining flexibility. CORSIA is a global measure; however, we must be able to go further at European level", this source told EUROPE. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)