European Commission decides on 2004-06 as base years for ETS

European Commission decided (07-Mar-2011) on the historical aviation emissions which will be used to calculate the number of aviation allowances to be available from 2012, as part of preparing for the full inclusion of aviation in the EU's emissions trading system (EU ETS). The EC has selected a historical aviation emission figure of 219,476,343 tonnes of CO2, representing the average of the estimated annual emissions for 2004-2006. Based on this, the number of aviation allowances to be created in 2012 amounts to 212,892,052 tonnes of CO2, and the number of aviation allowances to be created each year from 2013 onwards amounts to 208,502,525 tonnes of CO2. From the start of 2012, some 4000 aircraft operators arriving and departing in the EU will be covered by the EU ETS. Aviation represents around 10% of greenhouse gas emissions covered by the EU ETS. The inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS is expected to have only a minor impact on ticket prices. If an airline charges passengers for the full CO2 price, with the current carbon prices, the price of an economy-class return ticket from Brussels to New York would rise by EUR12. [more]

European Commission: "Emissions from aviation are growing faster than from any other sector, and all forecasts indicate they will continue to do so under business as usual conditions. Firm action is needed. By publishing the data on which allocations will be based, we prepare for the full inclusion of aviation in the emissions trading system," Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action. Source: European Commission, 07-Mar-2011.