Aviation industry carbon scheme highly flawed, Brussels warned

The aviation industry’s flagship carbon offsetting system risks being ineffective, poorly enforced and “undermining” the EU’s climate policies, according to an unpublished report written for the EC. The highly critical analysis was commissioned ahead of key decisions this summer on aviation in the EU’s regulated carbon market. The report said the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia) was “unlikely to materially alter the direct climate impact associated with air travel” and may offer little better than a scenario “in which international aviation emissions remain unregulated”.  The commission is expected to propose in June how aviation industry emissions should be mitigated, including whether to include international flights in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. The ETS limits the volume of greenhouse gases that heavy polluters can emit and requires them to buy tradeable allowances to cover their output The report, dated September 2020, was drawn up by several aviation and climate consultancy groups chosen by the commission, and obtained by campaign group Transport & Environment under a freedom of information request. It said that a reliance on Corsia, rather than an expansion of the scope of the ETS, risked “weakening current EU climate policies”. <br/>