Background Briefing: Aviation under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)

The briefing examines the impact of aviation emissions and the failure of international measures, specifically CORSIA, to align with the Paris Agreement. It details the 'stop-the-clock' derogation that paused EU ETS enforcement for flights entering and leaving Europe and warns that continuing this exemption risks the EU's 2030 climate targets and increases the oversupply of emission allowances.

• Aviation emissions contribute approximately 4.9% of global warming and are projected to increase by up to 300% by 2050 if not addressed, potentially consuming a quarter of the carbon budget required to limit warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050.
• The Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is criticized for lacking ambition and failing to meet the goal of carbon-neutral growth by 2020. It is voluntary until 2027, does not address emissions below 2020 levels, and is estimated by CE Delft to cover only about 21.6% of global aviation emissions between 2021 and 2035.
• Since April 2013, the EU has used a 'stop-the-clock' derogation to temporarily cease enforcement of EU ETS rules for flights entering and leaving Europe due to pressure from China, India, and the US, though intra-European flights remain covered.
• Excluding international flights from the EU ETS threatens the EU's 2030 climate targets, which include a general emission cut of at least 40% from 1990 levels and a 43% cut for EU ETS sectors from 2005 levels. The European Commission estimates such an exclusion would increase the oversupply of allowances by 300 million.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (n.d.). Background Briefing: Aviation under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Background-briefing-aviation-under-the-EU-ETS.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Background Briefing: Aviation under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). n.d. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Background-briefing-aviation-under-the-EU-ETS.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Background Briefing: Aviation under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Background-briefing-aviation-under-the-EU-ETS.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatchndbackground, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Background Briefing: Aviation under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Background-briefing-aviation-under-the-EU-ETS.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }