Fuelling the future: financing sustainable transport through expanded EU carbon market

Carbon Market Watch asserts that the EU's Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) is insufficient without expanding the EU ETS to cover all aviation and shipping emissions. The organization estimates that covering all flights leaving the EEA would generate an additional €9 billion annually, rising to €58 billion if non-CO2 effects and private aviation are included. While the STIP utilizes the EU Innovation Fund and European Hydrogen Bank for cleaner fuels, the author argues that funding should shift away from biofuels toward e-kerosene and railway infrastructure, such as the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T), to adhere to the 'polluter pays' principle.

• Expanding the EU ETS to cover all flights departing from the European Economic Area (EEA) would increase annual carbon pricing revenues by €9 billion, and by €58 billion if private aviation and non-CO2 effects are included.
• The Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) allocates funding for aviation and maritime fuel projects through the EU Innovation Fund (€446 million) and the European Hydrogen Bank (€300 million).
• Current EU ETS mechanisms provided €100 million to 53 airlines in 2024 for eligible fuels, primarily bio-kerosene, while biofuels received an additional €25 million in support because they are not charged for emissions.
• The European Commission plans to use double-sided auctions to increase production of sustainable fuels and mobilize €2 billion from InvestEU for the sustainable alternative fuel sector by 2027.
• Completing the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) high-speed rail network by 2040 would cost €345 billion, while expanding it threefold by 2050 would cost €546 billion and reduce CO2 emissions by 5 billion tonnes.

APA

Helle, J. (2025). Fuelling the future: financing sustainable transport through expanded EU carbon market. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2025/11/07/fuelling-the-future-financing-sustainable-transport-through-expanded-eu-carbon-market/

Chicago

Helle, Jenny. Fuelling the future: financing sustainable transport through expanded EU carbon market. Carbon Market Watch, 2025. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2025/11/07/fuelling-the-future-financing-sustainable-transport-through-expanded-eu-carbon-market/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Helle |first1=Jenny |title=Fuelling the future: financing sustainable transport through expanded EU carbon market |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=7 November 2025 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2025/11/07/fuelling-the-future-financing-sustainable-transport-through-expanded-eu-carbon-market/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{helle2025fuelling, author = {Helle, Jenny}, title = {{Fuelling the future: financing sustainable transport through expanded EU carbon market}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2025/11/07/fuelling-the-future-financing-sustainable-transport-through-expanded-eu-carbon-market/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }