Emissions trading systems

The European Union’s Emissions Trading System

In 2008, the European Union (EU) decided to incorporate emissions of flights taking off or landing at airports in the European Economic Area (EEA; EU member states as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein) into the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) from 2012. This means aircraft operators have been obliged to submit emissions allowances for all flights taking off or landing in the EEA since 2012. They received a free allocation of emissions allowances based on the tonne-kilometres submitted in 2010. From 2012 to the end of 2016, the obligation to participate in the ETS was restricted to flights within the EEA (stop-the-clock regulation). This was a temporary measure as the EU awaited the development of the global measure announced by ICAO. In 2017, the EU decided to continue limiting the EU ETS to flights within the EEA until 31 December 2023.

Linking emissions trading systems

The Swiss Confederation believes aviation must play its part in combating global warming, which is why it signed the agreement to link Switzerland’s ETS with that of the EU in November 2017. As aviation emissions have been recorded in the European ETS since 2012, Switzerland also intends to include aviation in the Swiss ETS when the two systems are linked. The required amendments to the CO2 Act were adopted by the Swiss parliament during the 2018 autumn session. The agreement on linking the emissions trading systems of Switzerland and the EU was ratified on 6 December 2019 and entered into force on 1 January 2020. This meant Swiss civil aviation was incorporated into the Swiss ETS from this date.

Recording tonne-kilometres and emissions data

To prepare for the inclusion of aviation in the Swiss ETS, data on tonne-kilometres is required so that the free allocation of emissions allowances for individual aircraft operators and the initial Swiss aviation cap (maximum amount of emissions allowances available) can be calculated. The ordinance on recording and reporting on tonne-kilometre data from flight routes entered into force on 1 July 2017. Recording took place from 1 January to 31 December 2018. From 1 January 2020, aircraft operators must record and report their CO2 emissions data annually based on a monitoring plan submitted in 2019 and approved by the Confederation. Further information can be found on the websites of the European Commission and the Federal Office for the Environment.