Dutch to introduce limits on the carbon emissions of international flights from its airports
The Dutch cabinet has announced that flights from Dutch airports will have their CO2 emissions capped from 2025 depending on the airport. It has not yet specified the different thresholds for each. This follows the “Aviation Memorandum 2020-2050”, a 2020 memorandum which laid down the blueprint for measures to achieve increased “sustainability” in the Dutch aviation sector. The Minister responsible for aviation said there is not yet any “global, European or national instrument that legally anchors aviation CO2 emissions in absolute terms. The CO2 cap provides this anchorage … and secures the climate goals for aviation by setting clear and enforceable limits on permitted CO2 emissions, thus creating a guarantee for meeting the climate targets … The targets are currently unenforceable; without introducing a legal cap, there is a risk that CO2 emissions from aviation will in practice turn out higher than agreed, as a result of which the goals of the Aviation Memorandum will not be met.” The cap is planned to be implemented in 2025.
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Dutch to introduce carbon cap at airports from 2025
By Benedikt Stöckl | EURACTIV.com
20 Mar 2023
The law follows up on the “Aviation Memorandum 2020-2050”, a 2020 memorandum which laid down the blueprint for measures to achieve increased sustainability in the Dutch aviation sector.
Flights will have their CO2 emissions capped from 2025 depending on the airport, the Dutch cabinet announced on Friday without yet specifying the different thresholds for each.
The law follows up on the “Aviation Memorandum 2020-2050”, a 2020 memorandum which laid down the blueprint for measures to achieve increased sustainability in the Dutch aviation sector.
“Currently, there is no global, European or national instrument that legally anchors aviation CO2 emissions in absolute terms. The CO2 cap provides this anchorage. The CO2 cap secures the climate goals for aviation by setting clear and enforceable limits on permitted CO2 emissions, thus creating a guarantee for meeting the climate targets […],” Infrastructure and Water Management Minister Mark Harber stated in a letter to parliament.
“The targets are currently unenforceable; without introducing a legal cap, there is a risk that CO2 emissions from aviation will in practice turn out higher than agreed, as a result of which the goals of the Aviation Memorandum will not be met,” he added.
The ceiling will be implemented individually at each airport in the Netherlands. This method of implementation had emerged as the only feasible possibility following a legal assessment and an impact study which were carried out before the announcement of the law.
While the exact cap for each airport is still to be determined, it was announced that it would stay fixed for several years – meaning that if an airport exceeds the cap one year, it can compensate for the excess emissions while the cap remains fixed.
“When further designing a CO2 cap, a choice also needs to be made on the most appropriate way to monitor and forecast CO2 emissions […]. This will include looking at the ReFuelEU Aviation proposal from the European Commission’s Fit for 55 package, which includes proposals on detailed monitoring and reporting of fuel data (including per airport) and a measure against refuelling,” Harbers added.
The cap is planned to be implemented in 2025.
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/dutch-to-introduce-carbon-cap-at-airports-from-2025/
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One of Europe’s busiest airports to be forced to cut flights due to planet-warming carbon pollution
March 22, 2023
CNN
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, one of Europe’s busiest aviation hubs, is to be forced to limit the number of international flights and passengers it handles under the Dutch government’s plans to cut carbon emissions — a move that has triggered airline concerns.
Dutch officials announced on March 17 that it would impose restrictions on all international flights leaving the Netherlands in order to reach its climate goals.
Aviation accounts for around 2-3% of the world’s planet-warming pollution, but a country’s share of those emissions can be quite high, especially for smaller nations that handle a lot of flights. And some have targeted aviation to reduce their overall climate footprint and meet their climate promises.
While there have previously been moves within Europe to limit or ban some local and regional short-haul flights to cut carbon emissions, this would be the first environmental measures made against international services.
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KLM, the Netherland’s flagship carrier, this week expressed concerns over the move.
“KLM believes that sustainability policies – due to the global scope of aviation – should be regulated internationally as much as possible,” the company told CNN Wednesday.
“Being the only country in the world to set up a national CO2-ceiling does not match with an internationally operating sector and international policy,” it continued.
The Dutch transport ministry said in a statement that Schiphol and other affected airports could spread the reductions over multiple years.
“The maximum CO2 emissions set for each airport will apply for several years, so that an exceedance in one year can be compensated in subsequent years,” it said.
“The policy will help the country meet its carbon goal Further details remain to be decided and the government promises that discussions will include all parties.”
Legal challenge
Schiphol Airport is a major European hub alongside London, Paris and Frankfurt. It also serves as the base for KLM, the Netherland’s flag carrier fleet and one of the continent’s biggest airlines.
The airport came under heavy criticism from passengers and airlines last year after it struggled to cope with a resurgence in air traffic in the wake of the Covid pandemic. The chaos resulted in caps on passenger numbers through early 2023 to mitigate staffing shortages.
In response to environmental concerns, the Dutch government published the “Preliminary Scheme Schiphol” in January, which proposed cutting flight numbers from 500,000 to 460,000 between winter 2023-2024 and summer 2024.
KLM, alongside other big players such as Delta and EasyJet, described this decision as “incomprehensible” in a joint statement released on March 3.
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“The airlines have already made multi-billion euros investments to meet near- and long-term goals in line with their own decarbonization trajectories as well as government policies, while the government’s justification hinges on operational restrictions with no consideration of alternative workable solutions to effect noise reduction,” the statement said.
Delta Airlines, which is a key partner of KLM and major shareholder the Air France-KLM group, also said that it “strongly objects to capacity reductions at Schiphol Airport” while it remains “actively focused on investing in our fleet renewal and modernization program as the most effective way forward to mitigate noise and environmental concerns.”
KLM launched a legal challenge against the Dutch government over the decision in early March.
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see earlier:
Schiphol airport in Amsterdam limits flights to prevent emissions, in world first
The Dutch government has announced that the number of flights arriving at Schiphol airport will be capped to bring down carbon emissions. Schiphol, the third largest airport in Europe after Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle, will be limited to 440,000 flights a year from 2023. That is an 11% reduction from the airport’s pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 – and most importantly, it is a first in terms of putting climate before economic growth. The Dutch government, a majority stakeholder in Schiphol, says the change will bring down both noise and nitrogen oxide pollution (NOx). By limiting air traffic at one of Europe’s major airports the Dutch government is taking a major step to tackle air travel, which is one of the most polluting sectors. The aviation industry is not happy about it, and want instead to persist with the myth of being “net zero by 2050” (which is uncertain, too little, too late). A pro-aviation body ACI Europe “warned against governments caving in to ‘climate populism’.” The decision was welcomed by Greenpeace, which has been campaigning to reduce flights at Schiphol for years.
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