Lufthansa and other major European carriers are seeking to block the expansion of the European Union's Emissions Trading System (ETS) to international flights. In a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seen by Reuters on Monday, they warned of rising ticket prices and freight costs. Signatories include Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr and his counterparts at Air France-KLM, British Airways parent IAG, Ryanair, EasyJet, as well as TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel. A total of 15 industry representatives backed the appeal, which was disclosed on the sidelines of the IATA annual general meeting in Brazil.

Currently, the Emissions Trading System, which requires airlines to purchase CO2 certificates for greenhouse gas emissions, is limited to intra-European flights. As part of a review scheduled for July, the EU Commission is considering extending the system to long-haul flights departing from the EU. The Commission stated that this would eliminate the competitive disadvantage faced by European airlines compared to international rivals.

While European carriers also criticize this unequal treatment, they argue that the global climate protection scheme Corsia, established by the UN agency ICAO, is the superior instrument for reducing CO2. 'Any expansion of the EU ETS will undermine the legitimacy of Corsia', the letter stated. They further argued that ETS costs should be lowered to align with Corsia levels. The EU Commission remains skeptical of the global mechanism; according to a 2021 study, it is less effective than the EU's own emissions trading system.

(Reported by Kate Abnett and Joanna Plucinska; written by Ilona Wissenbach. Edited by Olaf Brenner. For inquiries, please contact the editorial management at frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com)