Adoption of the Commission Decision on the total quantity of allowances to be allocated in respect of aircraft operators in the EU ETS for 2024

In accordance with Article 3c(5) of the Directive 2003/87/EC (the ‘ETS Directive’), the Commission determined and published the 2024 aviation cap as well as the amount of free allocation which would have taken place in 2024 under the rules for free allocation in force prior to the amendments introduced by Directive (EU) 2023/958.

The amended ETS Directive details that the aviation cap for 2024 is to be based on the total number of allowances that were allocated to active aircraft operators in the year 2023, reduced by the linear reduction factor.

The calculation of the aviation cap that underpins the Commission Decision applies the following principles:

• The total quantity of allowances in 2023 is to be increased by the levels of allocations in respect of flights which are only covered by the EU ETS from 1 January 2024,  (flights between an aerodrome located in an outermost region of a Member State and an aerodrome located in another Member State), and decreased by the level of allocation in respect of flights that are no longer covered by the EU ETS from 1 January 2024 (flights within the same outermost region).
• The cap will be reduced yearly by applying the linear reduction factor which is increased from 2.2% to 4.3% for the years 2024 to 2027, and 4.4% from 2028.

The 2024 aviation cap amounts to 28 866 578 allowances.

The Decision also establishes the amount of free allocation which would have taken place in 2024 under the rules for free allocation in force prior to the amendments introduced by Directive (EU) 2023/958. This amounts to 24 536 591 allowances. This amount will be used to define the total amount available for free allocation, which is this amount reduced by 25% in 2024 and by 50% in 2025.

The 2024 aviation cap and the yearly reduction of the allowances to be issued also apply to the States of the European Economic Area and the European Free Trade Association.

The Commission Decision was published in the Official Journal today, 31 October 2023.

Read more

• Commission Decision on the Union-wide total quantity of allowances to be allocated in respect of aircraft operators under the EU Emissions Trading System for 2024
• Directive (EU) 2023/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 amending Directive 2003/87/EC as regards aviation’s contribution to the Union’s economy-wide emission reduction target and the appropriate implementation of a global market-based measure
• Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (Text with EEA relevance)
• EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)
• Reducing emissions from aviation
• Allocation to the aviation sector
• European Green Deal: new rules agreed on applying the EU emissions trading system in the aviation sector