The EU ETS must become a central vehicle for decarbonising aviation. Both the European Commission's proposal and the European Parliament's draft report correctly identify the problem: how we collectively resolve it is what needs fixing.
The Draghi report has identified aviation as the most expensive transport sector to decarbonise. Passengers and airlines alone cannot absorb the €61 billion-a-year investment requirement from 2030 onwards to reach net-zero.
“The offer of an extended ETS scope for more SAF allowances is a false promise: only 13% of aviation payments will be converted into SAF allowances,” stated Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director of Airlines for Europe (A4E). If European policymakers want to keep flying accessible to the everyday European, airlines should be allowed to convert their full EU ETS payments into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) allowances. This would help bridge the four- to ten-fold cost gap between SAF and conventional jet fuel and would bring investment to SAF offtakes and production.”
SAF allowances should also remain technologically neutral. Removing the more widely available SAF derived from waste and fats (HEFA SAF) in 2029 is premature, as it will remain a significant portion of supplied SAF.
Keeping the extended scope of EU ETS beyond the European Economic Area (EEA) undermines global confidence in CORSIA, and the EU's commitment to a globally harmonised and single regime for international aviation emissions. A regional solution such as ETS will not solve what is fundamentally a global problem.
Finally, ETS is not the appropriate instrument to address contrail avoidance: this is fundamentally an airspace and air-traffic-management issue.
If Europe wants to keep flying accessible to all, it must show greater commitment to ensuring that every cent passengers pay in ETS goes toward decarbonising aviation.
