Europe's Five Biggest Airports Produce More CO2 Than Sweden, That Pollution Almost Entirely Untaxed
Europe’s five biggest airports combined pollute more CO2 than the entire Swedish economy with emissions that are almost entirely untaxed, a new airport tracker shows. The online airport tracker created by ODI, Transport and Environment (T&E) and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), uncovers, for the first time, precisely how much CO2 is released from planes leaving airports.
Passenger flights departing London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Madrid Barajas emit¹ 53 million tons of CO2 which is exempt from fuel tax and of which less than 15% is priced into the EU and UK’s cap and trade schemes. These schemes include domestic and EU flights only, meaning flights leaving Europe are not covered.
Jo Dardenne, aviation manager at T&E, said: “Unlike cars or power stations, most flight emissions are released outside of Europe’s borders, leaving the vast bulk of emissions from European airports scandalously overlooked. All flights should be included in the emission trading system, not just the ones within Europe.”
80% of Paris Charles de Gaulle’s emissions, for example, come from long-haul flights, whereas the majority departing from smaller airports, such as Krakow, are short-haul. Pollution from smaller airports is therefore taxed more than those from larger ones which cater for longer, higher-emitting flights.
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https://cleantechnica.com/2021/09/28/europes-5-biggest-airports-emit-more-co2-than-sweden/