Greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community: inclusion of aviation activities in the scheme

The Commission accepted in full, in part or in principle, 22 of the 59 amendments adopted by the European Parliament in its first reading. Eleven of these 22 amendments are already reflected, at least in part, in the common position.

The Commission accepted amendments, fully, in part or in principle, which would clarify the context of the proposal and do not detract from the general aim of the proposal. These include modifications to the categories of special types of flights that are excluded from the scheme.

However, the Commission rejected amendments that would alter the nature of the proposal, such as amendments that would limit the ability of the aviation sector to buy allowances from other sectors included in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. It also rejected amendments that are technically unfeasible or needlessly burdensome from an administrative viewpoint.

Parliamentary amendments accepted by the Commission and incorporated in full, in part or in principle in the common position: these amendments aim to:

• use the revenues from auctioning to tackle climate change in the EU and in third countries;
• ensure that the provisions regarding the use of CERs/ERUs by aircraft operators will be consistent with those applied to other sectors from 2013;
• delete the conversion mechanism contained in the Commission's proposal;
• send a signal that the EU is ready to engage with the rest of the world to find agreement on tackling aviation emissions and to adapt its scheme to the rules of a common scheme agreed with third countries;
• require State flights by EU Heads of State to be included in the scheme;
• exclude search and rescue, fire-fighting, humanitarian and emergency medical service flights;
• exclude, from the scope of the proposal, flights for checking, testing or certifying aircraft or equipment, whether airborne or ground-based.

Parliamentary amendments rejected by the Commission but incorporated in full, in part or in principle in the common position:

• an amendment which aims to include a reference to the 20 percent target included in the common position. The Commission agrees that the aviation sector must contribute to achieving the overall EU emissions reduction target of 20 to 30 percent compared to 1990 levels;
• the spirit of amendments, which relate to the need for a new entrant reserve for the aviation sector, has been incorporated into the common position through the inclusion of a new article which provides for a special reserve for new aircraft operators and aircraft operators which experience significant growth;
• lastly, the common position will include an amendment which would provide for all flights to or from EU airports to be included in the scheme from the outset, rather than a staged approach as provided for in the Commission's proposal.

Parliamentary amendments rejected by the Commission and the Council and not incorporated in the common position: the Parliamentary amendments dealing, in particular, with definitions in the proposal, a limit on the use by aircraft operators of allowances from other sectors, a multiplier to take into account non-CO2 impacts of aviation and the weight threshold for exemption from the scheme, were not acceptable to the Commission or the Council and are not incorporated in the common position.

In conclusion, the Commission considers that the common position neither changes the approach nor the objectives of its proposal, therefore it supports the common position.