The European Commission announces that it will continue plans to charge airlines for CO2 emissions generated by international flights, despite the risk of tensions with the United States and the opposition of carriers that are already struggling with high aviation fuel prices.
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The EU's carbon pricing system – the Emissions Trading System (ETS) – currently only covers flights within the EU, freeing up connections to non-European countries that account for most of the sector's emissions.
This imbalance must end, the Commission says on Tuesday, ahead of the long-awaited review of the ECJ due in July.
The aim of the review is “to ensure effective carbon pricing for the full share of emissions generated in the EU,” said Polona Gregorin, head of the transport unit at the European Commission's climate department.
Speaking at a conference with airline industry lobbyists, Gregorin warned that the ETS could be extended to “outbound flights”, which would mean covering all journeys originating in Europe, regardless of destination.
According to an analysis by Transport & Environment, if the ETS covered all flights departing Europe last year, total revenues for the EU and member states could reach EUR 12.7 billion – approximately three times the amount collected from the aviation sector in 2025.
The Commission's review aims to “apply an effective price signal to the EU's fair share of international aviation emissions on non-European routes,” according to a slide presented during Gregorina's speech.
The changes would also affect private jet traffic, the Commission said on the same day that environmental groups called for restrictions on business aviation to save fuel during a supply crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.
Any extension of the emissions pricing system would cover both EU and non-EU carriers. — One of the key principles is to ensure equal conditions of competition between operators, which means that on the same routes all carriers – European and non-European – are treated in the same way – emphasized Gregorin.
The industry responds
Representatives of the aviation sector reacted immediately.
“We really call on the Commission not to expand the scope of the ETS,” said Vincent De Vroey, director of aviation at the Aerospace, Security & Defense Industries Association of Europe.
He warned that bringing US airlines under EU carbon pricing could spark a trade dispute, recalling reactions from before 2012, when international flights were first proposed to be included in the ETS. Then the so-called “coalition of the reluctant” – including, among others, USA, China and India – opposed this solution, and the United States adopted regulations penalizing airlines that would comply with EU regulations.
To end the impasse, the Commission suspended the application of the ETS to international flights on condition that the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) develops its own system. As a result, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) was created, which will become mandatory for international flights in 2027.
The Commission is currently assessing the effectiveness of CORSIA and the results of this analysis are expected to be presented by 1 July. Depending on the results, a decision will be made on adapting the EU emissions pricing system.
— Any obligations under the ETS would be adjusted accordingly to avoid double CORSIA and ETS payments for the same emissions, Gregorin noted.
The airlines advocate relying solely on the UN system.
— We should invest in strengthening CORSIA so that it will ultimately become the only global emissions pricing system, said Ourania Georgoutsakou, director of the lobbying organization Airlines for Europe. — Because global problems require global solutions.
Georgoutsakou also drew attention to the ongoing jet fuel crisis, pointing out that it highlights Europe's dependence on imported energy sources.
Airlines for Europe – representing, among others, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and Ryanair – recently called for the suspension of the ETS due to the fuel crisis.
The European Commission rejected this request.
