CORSIA Threatens EU's Climate Ambitions, Critics Warn
The EU's climate ambitions face a potential hurdle with the introduction of CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. Critics argue that CORSIA, relying on emission offsets rather than reductions, could undermine the EU's goal of significant domestic aviation CO2 emission cuts.
Aviation's impact is substantial. It contributes 2% of global CO2 emissions and could consume a quarter of the world's carbon budget by 2050 in a 1.5°C scenario if growth continues. Currently, the EU ETS exempts flights that take off or land outside the EEA.
CORSIA aims for carbon neutral growth from 2020, but its lack of transparency and industry influence in decision-making are criticized. Experts like Mareike Willems and Christoph Störmer argue that the EU's CORSIA measure is not strong enough to protect the climate. If the EU ETS returns to its original state, it could exceed CORSIA's cumulative CO2 mitigation at least until 2039.
Moreover, CORSIA's use of biofuels may not be environmentally friendly due to land-grabbing and loss of biodiversity. CORSIA, as an offset mechanism, is also argued to be less effective than the EU ETS. Its 2020 baseline will leave all prior emissions unregulated, not ambitious enough to tackle the growing aviation CO2 emissions.
CORSIA's introduction could potentially limit the EU's climate ambition and replace the EU ETS mechanism, leading to weaker CO2 emissions regulation. With aviation's significant environmental impact, the EU must ensure that CORSIA does not hinder its goal of achieving significant domestic aviation CO2 emission cuts.
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