On Wednesday 8 June, the European Parliament adopted by a large majority (547 votes in favour, 44 against and 45 abstentions) the draft report by Sunčana Glavak (EPP, Croatia) on the European Commission's proposal to introduce an amendment to the rules on aviation in the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
This amendment relates to the requirements for offsetting aviation emissions under the ‘Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation’ (CORSIA).
Adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2018, CORSIA is a global mechanism to reduce CO2 emissions from aviation in which all EU Member States decided to participate from the pilot phase which started in January 2021.
In order to implement CORSIA, the Commission had presented a proposal for a decision on the notification to EU-based airlines of the compensation for the year 2021, while specifying that this compensation would most likely be nil due to the impact of Covid-19 on aviation in the reference year (2019) (see EUROPE 12764/10).
Member States will have to submit this notification by 30 November 2022.
According to the text approved by MEPs, this notification concerns aircraft operators who, from 1 January 2021 (as opposed to 2019 in the Commission's proposal), produce annual CO2 emissions exceeding 10,000 tonnes from the use of aircraft with a maximum certificated take-off weight of more than 5,700 kg.
Flights to and from the same Member State (including the outermost regions of the same Member State) are not affected, as they are covered by the ETS.
See the detailed results of the vote: https://aeur.eu/f/20p (in French) (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)