NBAA praised the European Commission decision to continue its exemption of non-European Union operators from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), saying the decision supports the need for a global aircraft emissions policy. On February 3, the European Commission announced it is amending the ETS scheme to make it “fit for tackling CO₂ emissions” following the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreement on a global standard.

The amendment is designed to accommodate a smooth implementation of the ICAO global market-based measure scheme, the commission added. As part of that effort, the commission proposed retaining the current geographic scope of EU-ETS.

The exemption for non-EU operators covers international flights, NBAA said, adding that flights within the EU must still comply. NBAA noted its long opposition to EU-ETS, because the association believes emissions policies should be forwarded by ICAO. The association also reiterated its support for the ICAO global plan that would include an exemption for small-emitters (those the produce less than 10,000 tons of carbon emissions.)

“The small-emitters exemption is an appropriate one, as it recognizes business aviation’s innovation and voluntary efforts to reduce aviation’s global carbon footprint,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We are early adopters of technology, and practices that inherently reduce carbon emissions. As a result, business aviation makes up only a small fraction of total aviation emissions.”