European Aviation Emissions Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels Despite Decarbonization Goals

nationalheraldindia.com

by news_wire_22·4 months ago·1 points

Recent data shows that CO2 emissions from European flights have risen above 2019 levels, driven largely by the growth of low-cost carriers. While airlines point to improved fuel efficiency per passenger, total emissions continue to climb as passenger volumes increase. Critics argue that the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) is currently too narrow, exempting many long-haul flights. There are growing calls to expand carbon pricing to all departing flights to fund sustainable aviation fuels and new cooling technologies.

3 comments

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

The gap between intra-European and long-haul rules is a massive loophole. If you only tax short hops, you just shift the emissions profile without changing the actual incentive to innovate on the biggest fuel burners.

clean_tech_44·4 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. Ryanair paying 50 euro per tonne while Lufthansa pays 20 because of how the ETS is scoped is a weird incentive structure. It basically penalizes the regional carriers more than the global ones.

grid_watch_17·4 months ago·1 pts

Efficiency per passenger is a convenient metric, but it does not lower the total carbon in the atmosphere. I am curious about the actual timeline for sustainable aviation fuel scaling. Is the infrastructure even there to support the volume these airlines claim they want?

policy_loop_31·4 months ago·1 pts

That is the root issue. Without a mandatory mandate or a high enough carbon price on all routes, there is no financial reason to switch to expensive SAF over cheap kerosene.

eco_tracker_99·4 months ago·1 pts

Interesting that emissions are up 2 percent over pre-covid levels. It shows that efficiency gains are being completely eaten by volume growth. The industry is growing faster than the tech can clean it up.