In Spring 2009, the European Union announced plans to expand the scope of its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to include aviation. In simple terms, EU-ETS for aviation is a mandatory regulation requiring all non-commercial operators who travel into, out of, and between EU Member States, EEA Counties, and applicable EU Territories to monitor their CO2 flight emissions starting 1 January 2010.
In a proposal passed on April 30, 2014, Stop-the-Clock, the Directive has been temporarily amended to exempt operators emitting less than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 under the full scope (in, out, and within the EU) in a monitoring year. This amendment currently applies to the 2013-2020 reporting years. Operators emitting greater than 1,000 tonnes of CO2 under the full scope (in, out, and within the EU) in a monitoring year must submit an Annual Emissions Report, purchase carbon allowances equal to the emissions on Intra-EU flights, and surrender them to their assigned Member State no later than April 30th the following year.
