A4E welcomes provisional agreement to prolong “Stop the Clock” of the EU ETS for aviation

• Call on EU ambassadors, European Parliament and Council to adopt new regulation by end of this year.
• Deal reduces risk of coexistence of two systems which would put European carriers at global disadvantage.

Yesterday, the Estonian Presidency reached a provisional agreement with Members of the European Parliament to keep the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) for aviation to cover flights within the European Economic Area (EEA) and prepare for the implementation of the global market-based measure as of 2021.

“The provisional agreement to extend the derogation for non-intra EEA flights until 31 December 2023, is the right step for a transition to a global offsetting scheme to address international aviation carbon emissions. It is now crucial that the EU ambassadors, the European Parliament and the Council adopt the new regulation by the end of 2017,” said Thomas Reynaert, A4E’s Managing Director.

“We welcome that policy makers took into account the industry’s concern that there can be no double burden for European airlines which would put them at a competitive disadvantage. A4E also supports the decision to stay away from a hasty change to the auctioning percentage without any comprehensive analysis of the market or assessment of CORSIA’s impact,” added Reynaert.

A4E has strongly supported the global landmark deal which means that growth in carbon emissions will be capped to keep the total carbon impact of aviation below 2-3% of manmade emissions in the next decade. The global scheme will complement industry efforts on an international level to develop cleaner aircraft, switch to low-carbon fuels and operate more efficiently. With an ICAO scheme in place, A4E expects this to be the only measure applicable to international carbon emissions from flights within the EEA as per 2021.