The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) are demanding action from governments and regulators to help the industry achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In a joint letter published on Monday, the industry groups spelled out their key lobbying points for the 2024 to 2029 European Union (EU) legislative period.
Among the main calls to action in the document is for the incoming European Commission and Parliament to reform the ReFuelEU Regulation to include “a reliable, fraud-proof” book-and-claim system for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that would be recognized by the EU’s emissions trading scheme. According to EBAA and GAMA, this action would “send strong market signals” to producers of SAF. They said this action would help to reduce “currently excessive” SAF prices and create a single market for the fuel.
The new European Business Aviation Manifesto also calls for business aviation to be admitted to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to give the industry access to the financing required to renew its fleet with newer, cleaner, and quieter aircraft. In July, the EBAA joined Dassault Aviation in taking legal action against the European Commission, which excluded business aviation from this legislation.
EBAA said the exclusion from the so-called EU Taxonomy classification system for identifying approved sustainable economic activities makes it harder for companies in the sector to access sustainable investments and “green” financing. According to EBAA's secretary general Holger Krahmer, business aviation was excluded on ideological grounds and served to discourage investment in decarbonization.
“We are proud to share our manifesto,” Krahmer said. “We stand ready to engage with all stakeholders and continue being the bridge between the European business aviation industry and policymakers. By focusing on our three key policy pillars, we look forward to advancing discussions on solutions that will facilitate our members' uptake of SAF and ensure a fair, non-discriminatory playing field for business aviation, granting equal access to airports and financing to develop net-zero propulsion technologies.”
The EBAA and GAMA lobbying alliance is also focused on opposing the threat of “severe taxes,” as well as operating restrictions and bans. They called on European Commission officials and members of the European Parliament to take account of how restricting business aviation could impact the competitiveness of Europe’s economy.
More specifically, the manifesto urged caution to ensure that any planned reporting obligations for non-CO2 emissions are both technically feasible and do not place an undue administrative and logistical burden on aircraft operators. The groups also insisted that distinctions need to be made between small and large emitters when it comes to settling the methods for data collection.
The business aviation lobbyists expressed concern that the anticipated rules covering measurement, reporting, and verification of non-CO2 emissions could be used as the basis for an additional tax on these emissions. They argued that this would be unfair on the grounds that there is no scientific consensus on either the impact of non-CO2 emissions or the most appropriate measures for mitigating them.
“It has been made clear that the newly elected European Parliament and the soon-to-be-elected College of Commissioners will be focused on steering Europe towards a more competitive and green future,” said Kyle Martin, GAMA's vice president of European Affairs. “General and business aviation have made significant contributions to advance and strengthen the innovation pipeline for the broader aerospace sector. The manifesto sets out some of the key policy initiatives our industry is advocating for to ensure that we can continue working towards our common goal of a prosperous and sustainable European aviation sector.”
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) are demanding action from governments and regulators to help the industry achieve its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In a joint letter published on Monday, the industry groups spelled out their key lobbying points for the 2024 to 2029 European Union (EU) legislative period.
Among the main calls to action in the document is for the incoming European Commission and Parliament to reform the ReFuelEU Regulation to include “a reliable, fraud-proof” book-and-claim system for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that would be recognized by the EU’s emissions trading scheme. According to EBAA and GAMA, this action would “send strong market signals” to producers of SAF. They said this action would help to reduce “currently excessive” SAF prices and create a single market for the fuel.
The new European Business Aviation Manifesto also calls for business aviation to be admitted to the EU’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy to give the industry access to the financing required to renew its fleet with newer, cleaner, and quieter aircraft. In July, the EBAA joined Dassault Aviation in taking legal action against the European Commission, which excluded business aviation from this legislation.
EBAA said the exclusion from the so-called EU Taxonomy classification system for identifying approved sustainable economic activities makes it harder for companies in the sector to access sustainable investments and “green” financing. According to EBAA's secretary general Holger Krahmer, business aviation was excluded on ideological grounds and served to discourage investment in decarbonization.
“We stand ready to engage with all stakeholders and continue being the bridge between the European business aviation industry and policymakers," he said. "By focusing on our three key policy pillars, we look forward to advancing discussions on solutions that will facilitate our members' uptake of SAF and ensure a fair, non-discriminatory playing field for business aviation, granting equal access to airports and financing to develop net-zero propulsion technologies.”
The EBAA and GAMA lobbying alliance is also focused on opposing the threat of “severe taxes,” as well as operating restrictions and bans. They called on European Commission officials and members of the European Parliament to take account of how restricting business aviation could impact the competitiveness of Europe’s economy.
More specifically, the manifesto urged caution to ensure that any planned reporting obligations for non-CO2 emissions are both technically feasible and do not place an undue administrative and logistical burden on aircraft operators. The groups also insisted that distinctions need to be made between small and large emitters when it comes to settling the methods for data collection.
The business aviation lobbyists expressed concern that the anticipated rules covering measurement, reporting, and verification of non-CO2 emissions could be used as the basis for an additional tax on these emissions. They argued that this would be unfair on the grounds that there is no scientific consensus on either the impact of non-CO2 emissions or the most appropriate measures for mitigating them.