Skip to main content
Normal View

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 May 2019

Wednesday, 15 May 2019

Questions (238)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

238. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his views on whether market pricing across the aviation industry reflects the cost of carbon emissions in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21020/19]

View answer

Written answers

Since 2012, greenhouse gas emissions associated with flights operating in the European Economic Area (EEA), including domestic flights as well as those to and from third countries, are covered by the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Airlines are required to monitor, report and verify their emissions, and to surrender allowances against those emissions. Airlines receive tradeable allowances covering a certain level of emissions from their flights per year and must purchase allowances to cover any shortfall between their allocated sum of free emissions allowances and their actual emissions, as reported annually. The ETS is administered in Ireland by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Reforms to the ETS, adopted at EU level in 2018, are designed to strengthen the ETS for the 2021-2030 period. These reforms are intended to provide a much stronger price signal to encourage deeper emissions reductions in sectors covered by the ETS, including aviation.

To support the planned development of a global Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the EU agreed in 2014 to limit the scope of aviation in the EU ETS to flights within the EEA. CORSIA will come into effect in 2021 and aims to stabilise global aviation emissions at 2020 levels by requiring airlines to offset any emissions growth after 2020 by purchasing eligible emission units generated by projects that reduce emissions in other sectors. CORSIA is the first global market-based measure for any industrial sector and is one component of ICAO’s suite of measures in support of improving the environmental performance of international aviation. Responsibility for the implementation of CORSIA in Ireland is a matter for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Top
Share