Briefing

Stop the Clock: the ETS Aviation Derogation

December 11, 2012

The European Commission has proposed a one year “stop the clock” derogation for the aviation portion of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive to provide ‘breathing space’ for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to come to a global agreement on regulating international aviation emissions. The derogation applies to all flights to and from Europe (including EFTA states and Croatia) except intra-European flights.T&E regrets that the Commission has been put in this difficult position through international pressure, particularly from the US.

The focus must now be on rapid progress in ICAO. Thus, T&E calls on MEPs to support the quick passage of the proposed derogation, ensuring that the clock automatically starts after one year and the scope of the derogation is not expanded in any way to intra-EU flights. In addition to this, T&E calls on MEPs to underline the reason that the clock was stopped: ICAO must agree a global MBM and a framework based on outbound flights.

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