Based on a Council Presidency compromise text circulated on 9 September 2025

The core of the draft

• Target and legal vehicle. The draft regulation inserts a Union-wide 2040 target of –90% net and mandates the Commission to review and adapt all relevant legislation to deliver it.
• International carbon credits on the table. The text keeps bracketed the idea of a “limited contribution” of high-quality international credits under Paris Article 6—including the share (e.g., 3%) and the earliest start (e.g., 2036)—signalling these parameters are political and still negotiable. Credits would not count for ETS compliance.
• Removals & ETS trajectory. The draft foregrounds domestic permanent removals (e.g., BioCCS, DACCS) and foresees a revision of the ETS trajectory in the next ETS review to reflect the 2040 target. It even acknowledges the possibility to store CO₂ outside the Union subject to international agreements and equivalent conditions.
• Natural sinks and LULUCF. It stresses the role of natural sinks, the uncertainties around methodologies, and the potential for long-term climate and environmental benefits from the land-use sector.
• Enabling framework. The Commission is urged to accelerate the “enabling framework” so industry and citizens have the conditions to transition (finance, permitting, grids, supply chains).
• Competitiveness & just transition. The review clause is strengthened to factor in competitiveness of European industry (including SMEs, energy-intensive sectors) and deployment of innovative technologies. Multiple provisions emphasise cost-effectiveness, fairness, energy security, and social cohesion.

Why this matters to business aviation

Policy consistency with aviation texts
The 2040 package will reshape post-2030 for ETS, ReFuelEU and related measures. Credit integrity guardrails—additionality, double counting, Article 6 quality—will determine whether international credits underpin or undermine actual-economy decarbonisation, notably SAF availability and robust book-and-claim. The draft confirms no use of international credits to meet the ETS target, locking in the ETS price signal to drive in-sector investment.

Investment signals
References to shifting ETS trajectory, to permanent removals inland, and to simplifying the enabling framework will influence propulsion capital allocation, efficiency, infrastructure and SAF production. Clarity on these directions reduces policy risk for suppliers and operators.

Level playing field
The text is unerringly focused on competitiveness, carbon-leakage risk and balance between Member States—concerns crucial for a sector in cross-border competition and infrastructure strain.

What happens now

Ambassadors have been requested to convey the compromise to the Environment Council on 18 September 2025 for consideration with a view to a general approach. If ministers agree, that is the Council’s negotiation line. In the European Parliament, the ENVI rapporteur is Ondřej Knotek (PfE, CZ). ENVI vote is on 23 September, plenary on 6–9 October. Parliament will have its position, likely with credit use amendments, protections and facilitating framework. Having both institutions assumed their positions, trilogues will decide the ultimate shape: the degree and timing of international credits, ETS trajectory and removals integration, and competitiveness level and fair-transition protection.

EBAA’s line — what we will advocate

In-sector decarbonisation first: international credits must still remain tightly capped, high-integrity and time-limited, with emphasis placed on accelerating the growth of SAF and crediting credible book-and-claim so business aviation can contribute value effectively as physical supply grows. A stable investment framework is required, where any revision of ETS trajectory and removals integration makes signals for clean technology and fuel investments stronger, not weaker. Competitiveness must be safeguarded by aligning the 2040 framework with aviation realities—slots, infrastructure, operational constraints—avoiding policy contradictions, and preserving a level playing field versus global competitors. Coherence across files is also vital, with consistency hard-wired between the 2040 target, ETS, ReFuelEU and sustainable finance rules to avoid perverse incentives.

Source: Council Presidency compromise text amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 (European Climate Law), circulated 9 September 2025