A coalition of Europe's leading aviation organisations has called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to abandon plans to extend the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) to cover long-haul international flights, arguing the move would provoke severe trade disruptions and harm the continent's carriers.
In an open letter made public on Friday, executives from Airlines for Europe, the Airports Council International Europe, the Aerospace, Security and Defence Industries Association of Europe, CANSO Europe, and the European Regions Airline Association warned that the planned revision, scheduled for 15 July, could reignite a bitter international conflict over carbon pricing in aviation.
The 'Stop the Clock' Mechanism at Risk
At the heart of the dispute is a long-standing exemption known as the 'stop the clock' rule, which has shielded extra-European flights from the ETS for more than a decade. Although the ETS technically applies to all flights departing from or arriving in the European Economic Area (EEA), the exemption means airlines do not need to surrender carbon certificates for long-haul routes. This arrangement was originally intended to give the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency, time to develop its own global market mechanism—the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
The exemption is legally set to expire at the end of 2026. If it lapses, the EU's carbon market would automatically expand to cover long-haul flights, a step the aviation industry describes as unilateral regulatory overreach.
“In the current geopolitical context, extending the EU ETS beyond intra-EEA flights will likely provoke an even stronger international backlash than in 2012,” the coalition writes, referencing the chaos of that year when a similar attempt to include international flights triggered fierce opposition. During that dispute, the US Congress legally barred American carriers from participating, and other nations threatened to freeze billions of euros in European aerospace contracts.
Environmental Costs vs. Economic Risks
The campaign group Transport & Environment counters that the current system leaves the most polluting flights unpriced. According to their analysis, 68 percent of emissions from European departing flights in 2025 went unpriced, a direct consequence of the carbon market's limitation to intra-European routes. They argue that extending the ETS to long-haul flights is essential to meet the EU's climate goals.
However, the airline alliance contends that unilateral action would simply divert traffic to non-European hub airports, delivering no net climate benefit while punishing homegrown carriers. “The appropriate solution is a strengthened CORSIA as the single global carbon pricing framework for international aviation,” the signatories wrote.
CORSIA currently covers approximately 60 percent of total international aviation carbon dioxide emissions, according to the global campaign group Aviation Benefits Beyond Borders. The European Commission is required to file a report on the environmental integrity of CORSIA to the European Parliament and the Council by 1 July 2026. If CORSIA fails to align with the Paris Agreement goals or covers less than 70 percent of global aviation emissions, the EU ETS will likely be expanded to include flights departing from the EEA as of January 2027.
The aviation sector's warning comes amid broader tensions between Brussels and member states over climate policy. In a related development, France's Green Fund cuts have sparked accusations of climate denial after a record heatwave, highlighting the political fragility of environmental commitments across the continent.
The European Commission has not yet responded to the open letter, but the 15 July revision will be a key test of whether Brussels prioritises climate ambition or seeks to avoid a trade confrontation that could ripple through the global aviation industry.
