EU Council and Parliament Reach Deal to Reduce Flight Emissions
Announcing the news, the Council said that the agreement ensures that aviation contributes to the emission reduction objectives of the EU under the Paris Agreement, and the same pointed out that under this agreement, the emissions trading system will apply for intra-European flights, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
On the other hand, it has been stressed that CORSIA will apply for extra-European flights from and to non-EU countries participating in CORSIA from 2022 to 2027, and the Council stressed that when emissions from these flights reach levels over 85 per cent of 2019 levels, they will have to be offset with carbon credits.
The Council and the Parliament of the EU have already agreed that they will assess the implementation of CORSIA in 2025, after the 42nd Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation. If CORSIA is able to deliver on its objectives, the EU authorities highlighted that the Commission would make a proposal to the Parliament and the Council to extend the cleat cut further.
At the same time, it has been stressed that in case CORSIA is not sufficient, the Commission will make a proposal to extend ETS’ scope to all flights departing from the European Economic Area.
“Transparency of CORSIA emission data will be improved, starting from next year, while safeguards will be included to protect commercially sensitive information,” the Council stated.
In addition, the same source revealed that the co-legislators have reached an agreement regarding the gradual phase-out of free emission allowances for the aviation sector. They agreed that free emission allowances get phased out 25 per cent in 2024, 50 per cent in 2025, and 100 per cent from 2026.
Based on such an agreement, it means that from 2026, allowances will be completely auctioned. As for the use of revenues, it has been revealed that the co-legislators agreed to transfer five million in allowances to the innovation fund.
Apart from the above-mentioned, the Council announced that together with the Parliament they also agreed to put aside 20 million free allowances to encourage the uptake of fuels.
Moreover, it has been noted that the co-legislators also agreed that all fuels that fall under RefuelEU will be eligible for the allowances for sustainable aviation fuels and explained that the price coverage for all airports other than those in small islands and outermost regions, will be modulated according to the type of fuel.
