A study commissioned by Carbon Market Watch and Transport & Environment (T&E), and conducted by TAKS, analysed the emission reductions, costs and auctioning revenues generated by extending the scope of the Emission Trading System (ETS) for aviation. The three scenarios analysed are 1) the European Commission’s (EC) proposal as part of the Fit For 55…
This policy paper complements the briefing “A New Hope – recommendations for the EU Emissions Trading System review” Introduction: The aviation sector is responsible for nearly 4% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions, and is the second biggest contributor to transport emissions, after road transport. While in flight, planes emit CO2 and also impact the…
In February 2017, the European Commission presented a legislative proposal regarding coverage of aviation emissions by the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). In response to the offsetting agreement reached in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in October of 2016, the Commission proposes to cover only intra-European flights with the EU ETS and to exclude flights entering and leaving Europe.
From 30 November to 12 December 2015, Parties to the UNFCCC met in Paris to negotiate a new global climate treaty.
The Paris Agreement was a remarkable outcome, especially after the failures of Copenhagen. Almost all involved, including Carbon Market Watch, seemed surprised at how positive the outcome was. However, expectations had been carefully managed in the preceding years, so that aspirations of environmentalists to have a treaty that reflected the scientific reality by dividing up the remaining global carbon budget, had been downplayed into unreality.
Only very few countries have outlined in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) that they will use international trading as a means to help achieve their climate goals. However, despite the limited role of markets expressed by most industrialised countries in their INDCs, such as the EU and the US, the political reality regarding domestic carbon pricing schemes looks different: jurisdictions responsible for 40% of the global economy have already implemented carbon pricing mechanisms.
ICAO is developing a Global Market Based Mechanism to achieve the goal of carbon neutral growth in the industry post-2020. Work is currently in progress to define which credits should be eligible to be used as offsets in this market.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is currently developing a global market-based measure to address greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation. An agreement is expected in September 2013 at ICAO’s triennial Assembly. A group of experts was established in 2012 to provide technical advice to ICAO’s Council. The group’s technical suggestions now include a mandatory…
Carbon pricing 
International transport 
Climate governance 
Fair climate action