Despite being the most climate-damaging form of travel, private jet use has reached record highs, yet most flights are exempt from paying a carbon price, and all are exempt from fuel taxes. This must end.
As the European Union institutions prepare to embark on the final negotiations around the bloc’s diluted 2040 climate target, there is one last chance to shore up some of the goal’s loopholes for the good of the environment and society.
Although the European Union has the means and capacity to wave goodbye to fossil fuels by 2040, EU environment ministers have backed an unambitious climate target for that year that unfairly shifts some of the burden for domestic climate action to the Global South and future generations.
In this policy briefing, CMW presents the main findings and shares our policy recommendations for how the EU should consider aviation carbon pricing.
By confronting the aviation industry’s full climate impact, our research shows that by applying the polluter-pays principle and expanding carbon pricing to non-covered aviation climate impacts, there could be a tenfold increase in EU ETS revenues between 2025 and 2040 from the aviation sector.
The continued allocation of free emission allowances has contributed to the limited decarbonisation of steel, cement and chemicals sectors, which remain the major sources of EU industrial CO2 pollution.
The EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), which requires polluters to pay for their emissions, was a world first, yet international aviation emissions are still exempt from ETS pricing despite their huge climate damage. The EU must now bring international aviation back under regulation, stand up for its values and reaffirm its role as a global climate action leader.
NGOs are concerned that measures outlined in NSCPs will be insufficient to protect those most vulnerable to ETS2 prices. National governments must prioritise completing their plans as soon as possible, but not at the expense of meaningful stakeholder engagement.
In 2012, it was undoubtedly the main reason for backing down: the EU had dropped its plan to cover all flights departing from and arriving in Europe under its carbon market scheme, following intense pressure from industry and major economies, not least the United States. It was the infamous ‘stop the clock’ to the full scope under the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS).
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