Among the legislative proposals included in the ‘Fit for 55’ climate package unveiled by the European Commission on 14 July, the institution presented various measures aimed at reducing emissions from the aviation sector, notably through the revision of the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS).
As previously reported (see EUROPE 12762/1), the proposed revision of the ETS thus foresees the phasing out of free emission allowances for the aviation sector with a view to achieving a complete phase-out by the end of 2026.
In addition, the total number of aviation allowances in the ETS for the year 2024 will be based on the total allocation to active aircraft operators in 2023 and will be reduced each year according to the linear reduction factor. As for the other sectors covered by the ETS, this factor would be 4.2%, compared to the current 2.2%, from the year following the entry into force of the ETS revision.
Scope of application
However, the scope of the ETS for aviation would remain the same, namely emissions from flights within the European Economic Area (EEA), including flights to Switzerland and the UK.
However, the Commission proposes a time-limited derogation (until 31 December 2023) for emissions from flights between an aerodrome in an outermost region of a Member State and an aerodrome in the same Member State.
CORSIA
For flights to and from third countries, and between two third countries by EU-based airlines, the Commission proposes to introduce “appropriate provisions” related to the ‘Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation’ (CORSIA) set up by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). These ‘non-EEA’ flights currently benefit from a ‘stop the clock’ exemption from the ETS until 31 December 2023.
“When emissions from flights outside the EEA reach levels above 2019, they will have to be offset with corresponding carbon credits”, the Commission says.
It added: “To ensure equal treatment on routes, flights to and from countries that are not implementing CORSIA would be exempt from EU ETS or CORSIA obligations”.
The proposed revision of the ETS for aviation also includes conditions to ensure that the EU’s implementation of CORSIA supports the objectives of the Paris Agreement and encourages other third countries to participate in CORSIA. For example, offsets must come from States that are party to the Paris Agreement and participating in CORSIA, and be reliably accounted for, to avoid double counting.
According to the text, it will be up to the Commission to adopt an implementing act specifying the funds, considered acceptable by ICAO, to be used in compliance with CORSIA.
It should be noted that the EU institution has also put forward a separate proposal for a decision to implement CORSIA.
This provides that once the figure for additional compensation for the year 2021 is known, Member States will have to communicate it to airlines by 30 November 2022. This figure will “most likely” be zero, due to Covid-19, the Commission then states.
Wishing to take into account the sharp decrease in aviation emissions in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the ICAO Council decided, in June 2020, that aviation emissions in 2019, rather than the average of 2019 and 2020 emissions, should be used as the baseline for calculating offset requirements by aircraft operators for the years 2021-2023 (see EUROPE 12518/5).
However, “aviation emissions are highly likely to not exceed their collective 2019 levels in 2021”, which will make the additional compensation for aircraft operators zero for the year 2021, the Commission notes.
The institution hopes that this proposal for a decision will be adopted by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament when the emissions data for 2021 are known, i.e. after 1 January 2022.
Other measures
With the goal of reducing emissions from the aviation sector, the Commission has also proposed a new regulation to stimulate the use of sustainable aviation fuels(see EUROPE 12762/7) as well as ending the tax exemption on kerosene as part of the revision of the EU Energy Tax Directive (2003/96) (see EUROPE 12762/9).
In 2018, CO2 emissions from aviation accounted for 3.7% of EU emissions. They increased by an average of 5% per year between 2013 and 2018. “Moreover, non-CO2 climate impacts of aviation are estimated to be at least as important in total as those of CO2 alone”, the Commission document says.
See the proposed revision of the ETS for aviation: https://bit.ly/3kseERw
See the proposal for a decision on CORSIA: https://bit.ly/3hJjqIL (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)