Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: In 2023-25, Lufthansa has high engagement on climate policy with both positive and negative positioning. Lufthansa opposes the EU sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate and the full inclusion of aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: In its 2023 Annual Report, published in March 2024, Lufthansa supported net-zero CO2 emissions from aviation by 2050. However, in two policy briefs sent to German policymakers in July 2024 and April 2024, Lufthansa appeared unsupportive of the EU’s Fit for 55 package, emphasizing competitiveness concerns. This position was echoed in a March 2024 meeting with DG MOVE, accessed through freedom of information request. Lufthansa further emphasized competitiveness and carbon leakage concerns resulting from climate change regulations to policymakers according to the German Lobby register accessed in February 2025. . Lufthansa supported the Paris Agreement goals on their Corporate Webpage, accessed in September 2024.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Lufthansa emphasized competitiveness and cost concerns with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and opposed the phase-out of free emissions allowances for aviation by 2026 in its 2024 Annual Report, published in March 2025. This position was echoed by Lufthansa’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, in a May 2024 Politico article. Lufthansa disclosed in the German Lobby register that it opposed the extension of the EU ETS to international flights. Lufthansa also advocated for an intra-EEA scope for the non-CO2 monitoring, reporting and verification framework under the EU ETS in its July 2024 consultation response and in its 2024 Annual Report.
Regarding the EU Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate, Lufthansa’s April 2024 Policy Brief sent to German policymakers emphasized cost and competitiveness concerns while advocating for incentives and a SAF levy instead. Similarly, Lufthansa emphasized carbon leakage, cost and competitiveness concerns from the EU SAF mandate in the minutes of March 2024 Meeting with DG MOVE, obtained via freedom of information request. Following the adoption of the EU SAF mandate by Parliament, Sphor appeared to assert the mandates are unachievable in a September 2023 Reuters article. And more recently, Sphor appeared to support a delay to the 2030 mandate in a March 2025 Politico article.
Lufthansa has repeatedly advocated for the German power-to-liquid target to be abolished, including in March 2025 and April 2025 policy briefs and in a September 2024 policy brief sent to German policymakers.
Lufthansa broadly supported the carbon border adjustment mechanisms for the aviation sector in December and February 2024 policy briefs.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In 2023-25, Lufthansa supported a transition to synthetic fuels, but appeared to oppose measures to transition the energy mix. Lufthansa appeared to support synthetic fuels in its 2024 Annual Report published in March 2025. An April 2025 policy brief and the minutes of a meeting with DG MOVE in March 2024, obtained via freedom of information request, show that Lufthansa expressed concerns regarding the supply of synthetic SAF. Lufthansa also supported the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA) in a February 2024 Policy Brief.
More negatively, Lufthansa disclosed it advocated against the EU kerosene tax and an increase in the national German tax for aviation in the German Lobby register accessed in February 2025. Lufthansa also supported the Swedish government’s decision to abolish its aviation tax and advocated for the German government to do the same in a September 2024 Policy Brief. Lufthansa opposed the phase-out of EU fossil fuel subsidies in an October 2023 Financial Times article.
Industry Association Governance: Lufthansa discloses an incomplete list of its memberships to industry associations on its Corporate Website, accessed in March 2025. Lufthansa has not published a review of its alignment with its industry associations. Lufthansa’s CEO, Carsten Spohr, is on the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s board of governors and the Presidential Board of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), both of which are actively and negatively engaged on global and EU climate policy for aviation. Lufthansa is a member of Airlines for Europe (A4E) which has positive and negative engagement on climate policy for aviation. Lufthansa Technik AG is a member of both the European Business Aviation Association and the European Regions Airline Association
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q2 2025.