Report

UN aviation climate scheme threatens gaping hole in EU 2030 targets

October 10, 2018

This independent study, commissioned by T&E, finds that Europe risks seriously undermining its 2030 climate targets if, as industry argues, it implements a UN offsetting scheme for aviation in full and without reservations. The measure, known as CORSIA, risks creating a gap of 96.2Mtonnes CO2 – equivalent to Europe’s steel and iron emissions in 2015 – with the EU’s 2030 target due to its weak target and reliance on discredited offsetting. To avoid missing its target, other sectors will have to increase their climate ambition to compensate for aviation’s inaction.

In the briefing based on this analysis, T&E recommends that not only should Europe reserve its position on joining CORSIA, but if at a later date it agrees to implement the scheme, it should only do so in addition to effective measures such as ETS or measures with equivalent environmental effectiveness. Europe’s long-term emission reduction strategy, currently under revision, must outline to sort of effective measures which can put aviation on a pathway to decarbonisation.

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