KUALA LUMPUR, 31 July 2026: The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) released a statement this week welcoming the European Commission’s decision to maintain its ‘stop the clock’ on applying the EU ETS to the full length of international flights, while voicing additional support for sustainable aviation fuels proposals. 

However, AAPA shares concerns voiced by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which noted earlier that a unilateral expansion of the EU ETS for aviation would be inconsistent with the objective of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the only global market-based measure applying to CO2 emissions from international aviation, and risks duplicative measures.

CORSIA was approved by ICAO Member States in 2016. AAPA believes that a unilateral, regional extension of the EU ETS risks setting a precedent for fragmented, extraterritorial climate measures that could undermine this multilateral framework over time.

AAPA’s statement read: “We encourage the European Parliament, Council and Commission, as this proposal is negotiated in the months ahead, to reaffirm their support for CORSIA and the integrity of the global, consensus-based approach it represents.

“We will continue to monitor this proposal as it moves through the EU legislative process and engage constructively with European institutions and ICAO on behalf of our member airlines.”

(Source: AAPA)