Latest update 15 March 2018
Overview
Please see the download section on the top right hand corner of this page to read the overview of this section and scroll down the page to read the latest updates on ERA's activities and position.
Contact
For further assistance please contact policy.technical@eraa.org
Update
Latest update 15/03/2018: As members are aware, the objective of CORSIA is to stabilise international aviation’s net carbon emissions at 2020 levels. As such, on 5 December 2017, the ICAO Secretary General disseminated draft Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), also known as the CORSIA Package, to all 191 member states. States were requested to revert with their comments before 5 March 2018. Please find the disseminated letter from ICAO and the EU response under useful links on this page. Members will also find a link to the ICAO CORSIA brochure which they might find of use as the voluntary implementation phase approaches.
An article on CORSIA recently featured in ERA's Regional International magazine is available for download from the top of this page.
19/01/2018: ICAO has published its draft ‘Proposed text for the amendments for International Standards and Recommended Practices’ for environmental protection. See the downloads section at the top of this page.
Should members have any feedback concerning the draft, they are encouraged to feed this back to their national competent authority before 5 March 2018, which is the final date for consultation.
Carbon emissions from aviation have grown rapidly, and are expected to keep growing. Since 2012, the EU emissions trading system (ETS) applies to flights to and from airports in the European Economic Area (EEA). Meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been developing a global market-based measure (GMBM) to offset post-2020 emissions growth in international aviation. In view of these international efforts, the EU exempted flights to and from airports outside the EEA from ETS obligations until 2016. The European Commission has proposed a regulation to prolong the exemption and prepare for the implementation of the GMBM. Parliament is due to vote on the proposal during its December plenary session. Attached is some background ifnormation to the plenary session.
On 03 February 2017, the European Commission (EC) made a proposal for the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) prolonging the existing temporary limited scope of the scheme that applies to flights within the European Economic Area (EEA) only. In practice this means that no new requirements will be introduced for flights into and out of the EEA until 2021 when ICAO’s global scheme (CORSIA) will be introduced but the current intra-EEA system will be retained. ERA responded to the EC announcement with a press release and is now launching a lobbying campaign as the EC proposal progresses through the European Parliament & Council.
ERA has consistently argued that the current reduced scope of the EU ETS has limited environmental effectiveness but imposes considerable administrative burdens on many ERA members, and it would therefore make sense to suspend the scheme ahead of CORSIA coming into force. Nonetheless, this EC proposal will bring clarity for operators inside and outside the EEA. We have also welcomed the commitment by the EC to a further review of the EU ETS prior to CORSIA coming into force. Without such a review, there is a considerable risk of a dual scheme post 2021 which would penalise our members.
We have also argued that economic instruments, such as the EU ETS, are only one means of reducing aviation’s CO2 impact. Improvements in technology, infrastructure (air traffic management) and operational measures have considerable potential to reduce CO2 emissions and we are continuing to push EU states to deliver projects such as the Single European Sky.
Through the Council for Environmentally Friendly Aviation (CEFA) ERA is following the developments at ICAO level and is working closely with the European Commission and IATA to defend the particular interests of the European airlines and, more specifically regional airlines. The next CEFA meeting is scheduled in Brussels on 18 September 2017.
In preparation for the introduction of CORSIA, IATA have produced some guidance for the industry. Please find a selection of helpful documents, as well as information about CORSIA workshops available to download at the top of this page.