Carbon emissions: A4E calls on EU Parliament and Member States to prolong “Stop the Clock” without delay or additional conditions

Potential coexistence of two systems puts European carriers at a global disadvantage.

Today, the European Parliament has voted on the European Commission’s proposal to keep the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to cover flights within the EU, known as “Stop the Clock”.

The European Commission’s proposal to continue the application of aviation ETS only to flights within the European Economic Area is the right step for a transition to a global offsetting scheme to address aviation carbon emissions. Member States have voted in favour of a single global scheme to address climate change – the European Parliament can’t ignore this without risking Europe’s credibility. It is now crucial that the Council comes to a swift conclusion; there can be no double burden for European airlines which puts them in a competitive disadvantage. During the upcoming Trilogue meetings there needs to be certainty for European operators enabling them to focus their efforts on the implementation of the global deal to effectively tackle climate change,

said Thomas Reynaert, A4E’s Managing Director.

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 carbon emissions from flights within the European Economic Area as per 2021.