environment
Airline emissions in Europe top pre-Covid levels despite pledge to decarbonise
Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% up on 2019
TL;DR
- European aviation emissions have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair's carbon footprint increasing by 50% compared to 2019.
- The overall European aviation sector emitted 195Mt of CO₂ from departing flights in the past year, a 2% rise from pre-Covid levels.
- The expansion of low-cost carriers is a primary driver of this emissions increase, despite industry pledges for decarbonisation and the use of more fuel-efficient aircraft.
- The EU and UK's emissions trading system (ETS) is criticized for not pricing most of the sector's pollution, as it excludes long-haul flights.
- Ryanair pays a higher carbon price under the ETS (€50/tonne) compared to legacy carriers like Lufthansa (€20/tonne) due to its predominantly intra-European operations.
- Transport & Environment (T&E) advocates for extending the carbon market to all departing flights to generate public revenue and fund sustainable aviation initiatives.
- Aviation industry lobbying efforts during the Middle East crisis aim to suspend or weaken ETS and other environmental regulations on flying.
- Ryanair counters that its per-passenger CO₂ emissions are falling due to fuel-efficient aircraft and that it displaces less efficient legacy airline travel.
- Ryanair argues the ETS figures are discredited because they exempt many flights, particularly long-haul, and claims its CO₂ emissions per passenger-kilometre are the lowest among major European airlines.