A consultation on the UK’s implementation of the agreed amendments to the Aviation EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) legislation has been launched.
It follows the agreement reached between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council on the future of the aviation EU ETS earlier this year.
That includes extending “to limit the scope of the scheme to flights between airports in the European Economic Area (EEA) only, known as the intra-EEA scope”, until 31st December 2023.
It also includes simplifying procedures for operators emitting less than 3,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum on intra-EEA flights and extending the exemption for non-commercial operators emitting less than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per year until 2030.
The UK Government’s impact assessment estimates a reduction in compliance costs for aircraft operators and in auction revenues between 2017 and 2023 compared to a scenario where the EU and UK legislation was not amended.
In the UK, domestic and international aviation emissions account for around 6% of total greenhouse gas emissions, which is around 22% of the transport sector’s total emissions.
The consultation, which is open until 5th January 2018, will be of particular interest to aircraft and aerodrome operators, verifiers, other participants in the EU ETS and environmental groups.
The new regulations must be implemented into UK legislation by 31st March 2018.
