After energy spat, EU faces row over green rules for aviation

The EC is divided over investment rules for aviation as airlines fight to avoid being left out of a coveted ‘green’ category, months after a similar row over energy, according to people familiar with the matter and a document seen by Reuters. The debate concerns a legal proposal expected this year to expand the European Union’s “taxonomy” - a list of climate-friendly investments designed to direct funds towards sectors that contribute most to environmental goals. The EU scheme does not ban ineligible investments, but restricts which investments can be labelled and marked as green. It aims to provide a gold standard for sustainable investing, but became mired in disagreement last year when the EU labelled some gas and nuclear investments green. People familiar with the talks said the Commission was split over whether to declare certain aviation investments green - with some officials in favour if they meet strict environmental standards, and others opposed to giving any climate-friendly badge to a sector with a high carbon footprint. “It’s clear that putting aviation in the taxonomy would further undermine its green pretensions,” one EU official said, speaking about internal talks on condition of anonymity. Two of the sources said some aviation investments were likely to be included, based on recent Commission discussions. “The high-level decision within the Commission seems to be quite clear that (aviation) should be in for the upcoming delegated act,” an EU official said, referring to a type of technical EU rules that complement a broader law. Aviation produces 2%-3% of global CO2 emissions - a share expected to expand if left unchecked - and is seen as one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonise.<br/>