Link climate pledges to E26bn airline bailout, say Europe's greens

Airlines are seeking E26b in state aid to deal with the economic fallout from coronavirus, according to environmental campaigners, who accuse governments of failing to attach binding climate conditions to negotiations. Air France, which has obtained E7b in loans and loan guarantees from the French government, and Lufthansa, currently negotiating a E9b rescue package with Berlin, top the charts in the airline bailout tracker compiled by Carbon Market Watch, Greenpeace, and Transport & Environment. European governments have formally agreed E11.5b in financial aid for airlines , including a GBP600m loan from the UK Treasury and Bank of England for EasyJet. A further E14.6b is under discussion, including GBP500m Richard Branson is seeking from the British government to aid Virgin Atlantic. Some governments are seeking to attach strings to rescue plans. France’s minister for ecological transition, Élisabeth Borne, insisted Air France was not getting “a blank cheque”. The government has set “ecological commitments”, she said, including a 50% reduction in carbon emissions on domestic flights by 2024, as well as investing in more fuel-efficient planes. Campaigners claim none of the green strings agreed so far are binding, also pointing out that France has not set conditions on Air France’s non-domestic flights, which account for the majority of its emissions. “France’s green requests are a first but we had non-binding commitments for years and airline pollution ballooned,” said Andrew Murphy at Transport & Environment. <br/>