On Wednesday, the European Union reached an agreement to legislate to increase airlines’ carbon footprint, which contributes to global warming. This adds to the pressure on the industry to move away from fossil fuels. Airlines operating in Europe are currently required to apply for EU emission permits. to compensate for carbon dioxide emissions. However, the EU provides them with most of them for free. This should change on the basis of the aforementioned law agreed between the representatives of the EU member states. and the European Parliament, which will phase out free licenses by 2026, according to Reuters. Specifically, free permits will be cut by 25% in 2024 and 50% in 2025. Simply put, this means that airlines on the Old Continent will have to pay for pollution, and this creates a financial incentive to reduce harmful emissions.

It is worth emphasizing, according to Reuters, that a smaller amount of free carbon dioxide (CO2) allowances, i.e. 20 million, will be allocated between 2024 and 2030 to airlines using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to partially offset the price difference. between SAF and much cheaper fossil fuel kerosene. “We support this sector in the process of transition to a green economy,” said the head of the negotiating group of the European Parliament, Suncana Glavac. The airlines alliance Airlines for Europe said it was “extremely disappointed” with Brussels’ plan to phase out free permits by 2026. necessary,” the association said in a statement.

The EU has so far limited the market for pollutants and carbon dioxide in particular to cover these emissions from flights within its borders. However, the negotiators agreed to review in 2026 whether the UN International Civil Aviation Organization’s plan to offset CO2 emissions from international flights is in line with achieving zero emissions by 2050.