EBAA Voices Concerns Over EU-ETS Plan's Impact on Bizav

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has serious concerns regarding the European Commission’s (EC) proposal to revise the EU Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS). The group said it was not consulted by the Commission’s climate action directorate on the proposed changes, which could impose broader obligations on business aviation while excluding the sector from key support for sustainable aviation fuel uptake. 

According to the EC, emissions from business aircraft have “largely been exempted” from the EU-ETS. EBAA denies that assertion, countering that the majority of its operator members have been monitoring and reporting their emissions, purchasing allowances, and complying with EU-ETS obligations for years. 

Under the proposal, existing flight-frequency exemptions would be removed, and the current distinction between commercial and non-commercial aircraft operators would be replaced by a single annual emissions threshold. While smaller operators may be able to use simplified monitoring and reporting tools, they would still be required to register, purchase, and surrender allowances. 

Further, the Commission proposes extending the EU-ETS, from 2029 onward, to departing flights from the European Economic Area to third-country destinations located within 5,000 kilometers (2,700 nm) of the European Union’s geographical center. 

According to EBAA, the EC "appears to suggest" that all incoming and departing flights operated by business jets could be included, but without the same distance or directional limitation. If confirmed, this could mean that an airline and a business jet operating the same long-haul route would face different carbon-pricing obligations solely because one aircraft is classified as a business jet. 

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) weighed in on that possible provision as well, stating it is “deeply frustrated” at the proposed extension of the EU-ETS beyond Europe’s borders. “The EU is repeating a historic error,” it noted. “The consequences will be harmful—sowing acrimony over extraterritoriality, slowing global decarbonization, and sapping European competitiveness—with European travelers and businesses paying the price.”

The changes would also explicitly exclude business flights from the allowances reserved to help cover part of the price differential between regular jet fuel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). “The proposal describes the SAF support mechanism as transparent, based on equal treatment and non-discrimination,” said Róman Kok, EBAA’s director of public affairs and communications. “Explicitly excluding business flights immediately afterwards is difficult to reconcile with those principles.” 

He added that the restriction is particularly concerning because sustainable aviation fuel remains the only realistic near-term decarbonization solution for most of the existing business aviation fleet.