European Parliament’s Environment Committee rejects allowing more offsets for aviation industry

The Committee has rejected a proposal related to the offset limit for airlines. This proposal would have allowed intra-European flights to offset nearly 100% of their reduction obligations. Offsets are international credits, from carbon cuts outside the EU, and are not actual European carbon reductions. Allowing aviation to offset all their reduction obligations with offsets from outside the EU would add about 20 million international credits into the EU ETS. International credits are already responsible for two-thirds of the current EU ETS oversupply. The use of offsets has recently been criticised in lacking environmental integrity and further undermining the EU ETS. As the proposal has been rejected, only 15% of aviation allowances can be offsets, rather than up to almost 100% if the amendments had gone through. Carbon Market Watch hopes a global deal by ICAO will also contain strong quality provisions for international offsets.


 


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European Parliament’s Environment Committee rejects allowing more offsets for aviation industry

Brussels, (Carbon Market Watch)

26 February 2013.

Today, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee voted in support of the EU Commission’s “Stop-the-Clock” proposal which derogates flights to and from Europe from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for one year to give enough time to negotiate a global agreement for addressing emissions from international aviation by autumn 2013.

In the same vote the Committee has rejected a proposal related to the offset limit. This proposal would have allowed intra-European flights to offset nearly 100% of their reduction obligations, while adding about 20 million international credits into the EU ETS.

“We strongly commend the Committee for rejecting the proposal as it would have done nothing to save the climate and only invite more artificial industrial gas carbon credits into the EU ETS. This in turn would have further flooded an already heavily over-supplied ETS”said Carbon Market Watch Director Eva Filzmoser. “We now look forward to a global deal by ICAO, with strong quality provisions for international offsets”.

International credits are responsible for two-thirds of the current EU ETS oversupply. The use of offsets has recently been criticised in lacking environmental integrity and further undermining the EU ETS. In response to these concerns, the EU has implemented a ban of industrial gas offset credits (from HFC-23 and N2O adipic acid projects) which will come into force in May 2013.

http://carbonmarketwatch.org/

http://carbonmarketwatch.org/press-statement-ep_rejects-more-offsets-for-aviation-industry/

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The Parliament rejected extending the offsets that airlines can submit (contrary to the TRAN  (Transport) committee) so only 15% of allowances can be offsets, rather than up to almost 100% if the bad amendments had gone through.

Use of offsets (meaning buying offsets from countries outside the EU, as in the Clean Development Mechanism, CDM) means carbon cuts are meant to be made by other countries, rather than the EU.  They are therefore not EU carbon cuts. Their use needs to be strictly limited, or reduced in order for the EU to make actual carbon emissions itself. Merely buying credits from elsewhere is missing the point.

Also the committee voted for an amendment which affirms that aviation is too privileged and gets too much State Aid, and also doesn’t pay any fuel tax or VAT.  Green NGOs had not thought this had any hope of getting through, so this was a pleasant surprise.  The Commission are revising the State Aid guidelines at the moment and there will be more news on this in coming months.