Sky polluters, time to chip in... How comprehensively covering aviation’s climate impacts under the EU ETS could help generate revenue for the green and just transition Citizens, time to cash in!

Carbon Market Watch proposes extending the EU ETS to include all departing flights from the European Economic Area (EEA), non-CO2 aviation effects, and private jets. The brief argues that the current limited scope—covering only intra-EEA flights—fails to address the sector's full climate impact and misses significant revenue opportunities. By implementing these extensions and applying carbon price multipliers for private jets, the EU could generate substantial funds to finance e-kerosene development, upgrade railway infrastructure via the Trans-European Transport Core Network (TEN-T), and meet international climate finance targets. The author specifically recommends replacing support for biofuels with a focused e-kerosene scheme extended to 2040.

• The current EU ETS scope for aviation is limited to intra-EEA flights, which resulted in only around 7% of the sector's climate impacts being priced in 2023. This is expected to rise to 15% by 2026 as free allowances are phased out.
• Expanding the EU ETS to cover all departing flights from the EEA would more than double the cumulative revenue from aviation emissions between 2025 and 2040, increasing it from €112 billion to €259 billion.
• Non-CO2 aviation effects, such as water vapour and nitrogen oxides, can have a climate-warming effect up to three times higher than CO2 emissions. Including these in the EU ETS via a carbon price multiplier could significantly increase revenues.
• Private jets are largely exempt from carbon pricing under the EU ETS due to coverage thresholds and the exclusion of extra-EEA routes. Carbon Market Watch recommends a minimum carbon price multiplier of 4 for private jets, as they emit five to 14 times more than commercial flights per passenger.
• The current Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) scheme is criticized for its 'first-come, first-served' approach and support for unsustainable biofuels. The brief proposes increasing the allowance pot from 20 million to 250 million for the 2024-2040 period, restricted solely to e-kerosene.
• Revenue from an expanded EU ETS could fund critical infrastructure and international goals: Scenario 3 (including non-CO2 and private jets) could finance the Trans-European Transport Core Network (TEN-T) and SAF development, while Scenario 2 could meet half of the combined funding needs for SAF, TEN-T, and the EU's international climate finance target.

APA

Bonnet-Cantalloube, B. (2025). Sky polluters, time to chip in... How comprehensively covering aviation’s climate impacts under the EU ETS could help generate revenue for the green and just transition Citizens, time to cash in! Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Sky-polluters-aviation-briefing_final.pdf

Chicago

Bonnet-Cantalloube, Bastien. Sky polluters, time to chip in... How comprehensively covering aviation’s climate impacts under the EU ETS could help generate revenue for the green and just transition Citizens, time to cash in! Carbon Market Watch, 2025. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Sky-polluters-aviation-briefing_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bonnet-Cantalloube |first1=Bastien |title=Sky polluters, time to chip in... How comprehensively covering aviation’s climate impacts under the EU ETS could help generate revenue for the green and just transition Citizens, time to cash in! |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=August 2025 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Sky-polluters-aviation-briefing_final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bonnetcantalloube2025sky, author = {Bonnet-Cantalloube, Bastien}, title = {{Sky polluters, time to chip in... How comprehensively covering aviation’s climate impacts under the EU ETS could help generate revenue for the green and just transition Citizens, time to cash in!}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2025}, month = aug, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Sky-polluters-aviation-briefing_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }