EU Climate Policy in Selected Economic Sectors: A Comparative Assessment from the Perspective of European Aviation
Expertise 23. September 2025 Malte Küper / Thilo Schaefer / Cornelius Bähr / Henry Goecke / Marco Trenz EU Climate Policy in Selected Economic Sectors: A Comparative Assessment from the Perspective of European Aviation
The climate protection targets of the EU and Germany require profound transformation across all economic sectors – including aviation, which is considered difficult to decarbonise.
Malte Küper / Thilo Schaefer / Cornelius Bähr / Henry Goecke / Marco Trenz German Economic Institute (IW)
The climate protection targets of the EU and Germany require profound transformation across all economic sectors – including aviation, which is considered difficult to decarbonise.
While sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and new propulsion technologies can reduce emissions in the long term, aviation will remain dependent on fossil fuels in the medium term.
Regulations such as the European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and increasing blending quotas (ReFuelEU) are intended to promote the use of climate-friendly alternatives. However, they also create competitive disadvantages for European airlines and may contribute to carbon leakage.
This analysis compares aviation with other hard-to-abate sectors and examines whether the current regulatory framework adequately addresses the sector’s specific challenges.
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