The Transport Ministers of Luxembourg, Belgium and Austria have issed a joint letter to the European Commission on the subject of jet fuel taxation.
On Thursday 6 July 2021, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Mobility and Public Work, François Bausch, and Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility, Georges Gilkinet, as well as Austria's Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Leonore Gewessler, and the State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Magnus Brunner, sent an open letter to the European Commissioners involved in the European Union (EU) "Fit for 55" package, which is part of the European Green Deal. The European Commission will deal in particular with the greenhouse gas emissions generated by aviation.
One aspect of the fight against aviation emissions concerns the tax exemptions enjoyed by aviation. The Luxembourg, Belgian and Austrian ministers have called on the European Commission to pursue a policy that will put an end to these exemptions while avoiding placing European airlines at a competitive disadvantage with each other or with airlines from third countries.
Besides the question of taxation, the ministers cited two other useful instruments for climate policies targeting aviation: the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) emission compensation systems, as well as alternative fuels.
