Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) is strategically engaged with European climate policy for aviation, with negative positioning in 2022-24. EBAA opposes business aviation taxes and bans, and the extension of the EU ETS.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: EBAA supported net-zero CO2 emissions from business aviation by 2050 but emphasized competitiveness concerns resulting from climate policies for aviation and opposing taxes in its European Business Aviation Manifesto published in September 2024. EBAA appeared supportive of Green Deal policies alongside a new EU Industrial Deal, but emphasized the importance of competitiveness, growth and technology neutrality in a July 2024 Industry Update. Its Secretary General, Holger Krahmer, supported net-zero CO2 emissions from aviation by 2050 in a December 2024 Euractiv article but appeared to argue that business aviation represents a small proportion of overall emissions, thus other sectors should be the focus in a June year article. InfluenceMap has not found evidence of a position on the Paris Agreement in 2022-24.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: EBAA appeared unsupportive of the extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to international business aviation flights and advocated for ‘alignment' between the EU ETS and Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) on its Corporate Website, accessed in November 2024. Its Secretary General, Holger Krahmer also appeared to oppose the application of the EU ETS to all or departing international flights, while supporting its application to intra-EU flights in a June 2024 Interview. EBAA advocated for EU ETS revenues to be spent on scaling up hybrid, electric, and hydrogen-powered engines in an October Press Release. Concerning the EU ETS non-CO2 Monitoring Reporting and Verification scheme, EBAA advocated for its simplification for small operators, emphasizing administrative and logistical burden concerns, in its European Business Aviation Manifesto, published in September 2024.
EBAA consistently advocated for the introduction of a book and claim system under ReFuelEU in 2022-24. For example, in its European Business Aviation Manifesto published in September 2024 it generally supported policies incentivizing the production and uptake of SAF alongside a book and claim system. In an October 2023 Press Release it supported the EU SAF mandate alongside the introduction of a book and claim system. This position was further supported by EBAA’s Secretary General, Holger Krahmer, in a December 2024 Euractiv article. EBAA appeared supportive of the exemption of business aviation from the global CORSIA offsetting scheme on its Corporate Website, accessed in November 2024. EBAA also advocated for a decrease of the Portuguese Carbon Tax alongside the harmonization of aviation tax across the EU in a September 2023 Industry Update.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In 2022-24, EBAA actively advocated against numerous EU measures to decarbonize aviation. EBAA advocated against the exclusion of business aviation from the EU Taxonomy in its European Business Aviation Manifesto published in September 2024 and in a January 2024 AIN article. Its Secretary General, Holger Krahmer, claimed it was in breach of EU Treaties and announced EBAA was taking part in the legal action against the exclusion of Business Aviation from the Taxonomy in a July 2024 Press Release. EBAA supported the reversal of the Dublin Air Passenger traffic cap in an April 2024 letter to the Irish Aviation Authority. It also supported the suspension of the business aviation flight cap at Schiphol airport in a March 2023 Press Release and in a February 2023 NL Times article. Holger Krahmer, EBAA’s Secretary General, generally opposed private jets bans and taxes on business aviation, including at Schiphol airport, Dublin Airport and in Switzerland in an Interview in June 2024. EBAA generally opposed taxes on jet fuel on its Corporate Website, accessed in November 2024. It was unsupportive of taxes on jet fuel and flight bans in its European Business Aviation Manifesto published in September 2024.
More positively, EBAA supported increased use of SAF in aviation and advocated for investments and research into clean aviation technologies including the electrification of aviation in its European Business Aviation Manifesto published in September 2024.
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 Q4 2024.