EU study raises concerns over integrity of aviation offsets under CORSIA

A substantial share of the carbon credits that airlines could use under the international aviation offsetting scheme carries a very high risk of failing to deliver the emissions reductions claimed, according to a study prepared for the European Commission.

Researchers assessed the environmental integrity of credit categories representing 59% of estimated issuance potential in the first phase of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA. Of the potential they could assess, 63% was rated very high risk, 17% high risk, and 20% medium risk. None was rated low risk. The researchers could not grade the remaining potential because sufficient information was unavailable.

The findings concern estimated future credit supply, rather than a finding that 63% of credits already used by airlines have failed. The study also cautions that actual supply will depend on factors including host-country authorisation, newly registered projects, and credits that have already been retired.

CORSIA requires participating airlines to offset a share of international aviation emissions above a baseline. Its effectiveness therefore depends in part on whether the credits represent additional, accurately measured, and lasting emissions reductions. The study identifies risks involving additionality, overestimated reductions, and the permanence of carbon storage. Two categories of efficient cookstove projects together account for almost a quarter of the estimated potential across CORSIA’s first and second phases.

The analysis gives EU policymakers evidence for the forthcoming review of CORSIA’s implementation. It is a consultant assessment commissioned to support that review, rather than a Commission decision on the eligibility of particular credits.

Business aviation accounts for a third of exempted EU aviation emissions, study finds

Business aviation generated 34% of emissions exempted from the EU aviation emissions trading system in 2024, despite accounting for about 2% of emissions within its current reduced geographical scope, according to a study prepared for the European Commission.

The researchers identified 3,798 operators carrying out business aviation flights. Within the reduced scope, 340,996 of their 480,176 flights were exempt, representing about 762,530 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The study distinguishes exemptions for activities such as rescue, humanitarian, and medical flights from those available to commercial operators with low flight volumes and non-commercial operators with low emissions.

It examines replacing the latter two exemptions for business aviation with a single annual emissions threshold. Under a model covering the aviation ETS’s full geographical scope, a threshold of 1,000 tonnes would bring an additional 832,600 tonnes of business aviation emissions and 257 commercial operators into the system. A 500-tonne threshold would bring in 1.043 million tonnes and 560 operators, including 219 non-commercial operators. Those tonnage estimates should not be read as the impact under the ETS’s current reduced scope.

The study calculates that the 1,000-tonne option would capture between 67% and 80% of business aviation emissions currently exempt under the low-volume and low-emission categories, depending on geographical scope. The 500-tonne option would capture between 84% and 92%. Its analysis leaves the other exemption categories, including those covering rescue and medical operations, in place.

These are options assessed for the EU’s aviation rules review, not thresholds proposed or adopted by the Commission. The figures nevertheless show how much the outcome depends on both the exemption level and the flights covered by the ETS.

EU maritime emissions reporting managed with expansion, but overlapping rules add work, study finds

The EU’s system for monitoring, reporting, and verifying shipping emissions remained effective as it expanded to support the maritime emissions trading system, according to a Commission support study. The researchers also identify scope to make reporting across the EU’s shipping climate rules more consistent.

Changes to the maritime MRV system brought methane and nitrous oxide into reporting from 2024, alongside company-level and partial emissions reports. Coverage widened again in 2025 to include smaller general cargo ships and offshore vessels. The study says most companies, verifiers, and national authorities adapted in time for the 2024 reporting cycle. Shipping companies surrendered allowances covering more than 99% of their relevant obligation by the September 2025 deadline.

That expansion has added work. Shipping companies surveyed reported annual costs generally ranging from €1,000 to €7,500 per vessel, with a median of €3,150. Extrapolated across reporting vessels, the study puts recurring industry costs at about €47 million a year. It warns that this is likely to overstate the cost attributable to MRV alone: much of the underlying monitoring and verification work also supports the EU ETS, FuelEU Maritime, and the International Maritime Organization’s fuel-consumption data system.

The rules do not always ask companies to report the same thing in the same way. MRV and the ETS measure emissions from fuel use on board, while FuelEU Maritime assesses the greenhouse-gas intensity of energy across its lifecycle. The frameworks also differ in ship coverage and, in some circumstances, in which company bears responsibility. Those differences can complicate the reuse of data, even where the same company operates under all three EU regimes.

The study points to better links between digital systems, clearer guidance, and sufficient verifier capacity as areas for improvement. It provides evidence for the ETS review; its suggestions do not themselves change companies’ reporting duties.

UK climate advisers say Heathrow expansion requires aviation emissions rules

The UK government should legislate to make the aviation sector address all its emissions by 2050 before granting development consent for Heathrow Airport’s proposed expansion, its independent climate advisers have said.

In advice published on 16 September, the Climate Change Committee said airlines would need to cut emissions directly or pay for engineered removals of those that remain. It described such a requirement as the condition under which expansion could be considered consistent with the UK’s carbon budgets and net-zero target.

The committee found that aviation emissions would remain at around their 2025 level in 2050 under current policies, even without Heathrow expansion. It estimated that the full impact of the proposed expansion would increase economy-wide residual CO₂ emissions by 6.9 percent of their expected level in 2050.

The advice responds to the government’s proposed amendments to its Heathrow Expansion National Policy Statement. It does not constitute a decision on whether the airport may expand. The committee urged ministers to make the cost of cutting and removing aviation emissions part of the cost of flying, so that the sector funds its own transition and demand reflects that cost.

EU publishes harmonised EV battery durability standard

The European Commission has published the reference to a harmonised standard for the performance and durability of electric vehicle batteries under the EU Batteries Regulation.

Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/2048, published in the Official Journal on 16 September, lists EN 18060:2025. The standard addresses rechargeable EV modules and batteries using lithium-ion, sodium-ion, lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, and combined chemistries.

Publication has a specific legal effect for manufacturers: compliance with a harmonised standard creates a presumption that a product meets the relevant requirements of the Batteries Regulation, but only insofar as those requirements are covered by the standard. The decision does not itself set a new performance threshold or make the standard mandatory.

The Commission said it had assessed the standard, drafted by the European Committee for Standardisation, against its standardisation request and concluded that it met the requirements it was intended to cover. The decision entered into force on its publication.

UK sets out rail strategy priorities ahead of 2027 publication

The UK government has set out how it intends to balance economic growth, passenger needs, freight, public spending, and decarbonisation in its forthcoming long-term rail strategy.

A discussion paper published on 16 September says the strategy will provide a 30-year framework for Great British Railways, the public body envisaged under the Railways Bill. The final document is expected in autumn 2027.

The paper identifies five proposed objectives: economic growth, financial sustainability, improved connectivity, meeting passenger and freight needs, and environmental sustainability. It says Great British Railways should support a shift of passenger and freight journeys to rail, account for climate risks to the network, and integrate rail more closely with other transport modes.

The government also signals a preference for making fuller use of existing infrastructure before pursuing major new projects. Timetable changes, rolling stock, digital signalling, and smaller works should be considered against a defined need. Freight operators’ access to network capacity will have to be balanced with passenger services.

The document describes the proposed direction of the strategy, rather than a funded programme of rail investments. Further analysis and engagement will inform the final version.