European airlines seek EU carbon revenue for sustainable aviation fuel buildup
European airlines want EU ETS cash recycled into SAF as Brussels readies a July review. They say current carbon costs and a 3-6x fuel price gap are slowing buildup.
On June 24, European airlines pressed Brussels to recycle part of the €2.3 billion they paid in EU ETS costs in 2024 into SAF investment before a July review.
The Commission’s 2026 work programme includes a climate package and an EU ETS update expected by July 2026, with the review set to examine how auction revenues are used. ETS1 covers industrial and energy installations, aircraft operators and maritime transport, and ETS1 emissions were about half of 2005 levels in 2024.
On March 19, IATA called for the review to enable a sustainable aviation fuel book-and-claim system and to reinvest more aviation ETS revenue into decarbonization, with priority for SAF production and zero-emission technologies. On June 8, 15 European airline CEOs wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Stéphane Séjourné and Wopke Hoekstra, warning that the current ETS structure adds to already high decarbonization costs. Their letter called for ETS revenues to be channelled back into SAF offtake agreements and investments in aircraft, engine and air traffic management technologies.
Airlines for Europe put European airlines' ETS costs at €2.3 billion in 2024 and projected about €5 billion a year by 2030. Airlines for Europe and the European Community Shipowners’ Associations put shipping and aviation together at more than €11 billion a year in EU ETS revenues, and urged the European Commission to require member states to earmark part of those proceeds for sustainable fuels and to top up EU mechanisms with national ETS revenue.
The joint A4E and ECSA statement put sustainable fuels on average three to six times more expensive for aviation than conventional fuels, and the current 20 million SAF allowances are not enough for 2030 demand. Transport & Environment has also pushed for ETS revenues to be reinvested into aviation decarbonization.
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