Aviation and climate funding programme
The revised CO2 Act came into force on 1 January 2025. It contains aviation reforms such as a new requirement to blend sustainable aviation fuels and a new aviation and climate funding programme. The Federal Council has specified these in the revised CO2 Ordinance. The aviation and climate funding programme will increase Switzerland’s support for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. One example of such measures is the production of renewable aviation fuels.
Funding for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in aviation
Comprehensive investment in innovative technologies will be required in the coming years to ensure greenhouse gas emissions from aviation can be reduced. The revised CO2 Act includes funding measures to help achieve this aim. In addition to the existing funding from the mineral oil tax (currently known as special financing for air transport), Parliament has approved new funds from other sources to set up and implement the measures. Earmarked levies will be used for this purpose – specifically, proceeds from penalties paid due to violation of the blending requirement (in accordance with Art. 28g para. 8 CO2 Act) and from auctions of aircraft emission allowances under the Swiss emissions trading system (in accordance with Art. 37a CO2 Act). Under Article 103b of the Aviation Act of 21 December 1948 (AviA), earmarked funds from the special financing for air transport and general federal funding can also be used.
Funding under Article 103b AviA focuses on renewable synthetic aviation fuels, which, according to the Federal Council report on carbon-neutral aviation by 2050, offers the greatest long-term potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in aviation. However, other measures to reduce the aviation sector’s impact on the climate can also apply for this form of funding. The plan is to combine implementation of these three funding provisions within the newly created aviation and climate funding programme. All processes under the previous special financing for air transport that promote environmental measures and are not related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions will remain unchanged.
The FOCA strives to make the application process for the Aviation and Climate funding programme as efficient as possible. For projects for which a concrete funding application is expected to be submitted in the coming months, preliminary applications (see information box) are expected. A positive assessment of these preliminary applications is a prerequisite for submitting the actual funding applications in 2026.
Submission of a preliminary application to the Aviation and Climate funding programme
From 15 June 2026, preliminary applications can once again be submitted to FOCA’s Aviation and Climate funding programme. Applicants interested in obtaining funding are invited to submit their projects in the form of a preliminary application by 3 August 2026. The procedure consists of two stages. Preliminary applications that meet the eligibility criteria and receive a positive assessment will be invited to submit a final application. The deadline for submitting final applications is scheduled for the end of November 2026. We will provide information on the exact deadlines in due course.
Scope of the preliminary application
A form for submitting a preliminary application can be downloaded below. Please note that this form is limited in scope and that the maximum number of five A4 pages must not be exceeded. In addition to the preliminary application, a short investor or company presentation may be submitted. Content exceeding this limit will not be taken into account in the assessment. The information provided in the preliminary application form is decisive for the review.
Deadlines
Deadline for questions regarding the submission of preliminary applications: 15 July 2026
Deadline for submission of preliminary applications: 3 August 2026
Decision on admission to submit a final application: 30 September 2026 (expected)
Deadline for the submission of final applications: end of November 2026 (expected)
Further Information
Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA
3003 Bern