European Commission proposes to amend the EU Emissions Trading System to address CO2 emissions from aviation

In October 2016, the Member States of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) reached an agreement to participate in the ICAO's Global Market-based Measure, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). CORSIA requires that international aviation offset its emissions through the reduction of emissions outside the sector using a concept of emissions units, and also requires airlines to monitor and report their annual CO2 emissions.

Following this global level deal, a revision of the EU ETS is required to maintain the aviation sector's contribution to the EU's climate objectives. The Commission proposes to continue with the current geographic scope of the EU ETS for aviation. However, once there is more clarity about the legal instruments adopted by the ICAO for the implementation of CORSIA, a further assessment and review of the EU ETS for the post-2020 period will be carried out, and the Commission will make the necessary proposals to implement the scheme.

The proposed Regulation will now be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council, which are expected to finalise the co-decision process by the end of 2017.