EU not ready to enforce pollution rules, airlines say

The EU plans to launch NEATS soon, a tool for consulting airlines on emission data

European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium Sept 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman//File Photo

Airlines have warned the European Union they cannot yet comply with pollution rules that came into force this month, because the EU has not yet launched its promised system to administer them, a document seen by Reuters showed.

The EU rules require airlines to track and report pollutants such as soot, nitrogen oxides and water vapour. These emissions contribute to global warming at least as much as planes' carbon dioxide output.

But the EU has not yet launched a promised system - known as NEATS - to collate the data for this reporting, prompting calls from airlines to delay the deadlines.

"Airlines cannot decide whether to rely on NEATS, develop proprietary tools, or utilise third-party solutions," industry groups Airlines for Europe (A4E), German industry association BDL and the European Cargo Alliance said in a letter to the European Commission, seen by Reuters.

The industry has until next March to report its 2025 emissions. Failure to do so could lead to penalties.

The letter was dated Dec 24. NEATS has not launched since.

A4E Policy Director Monika Rybakowska told Reuters that without it, airlines could need to collect thousands of data points per flight.

A European Commission spokesperson said it aimed to launch NEATS in 2025 and would consult industry on the data models in the next two months.

"Airlines will in any case need to monitor some data to be fed to the tool. This data is already available to airlines either because they already monitor it or because it is available already in existing databases," the spokesperson said.

Campaign group Transport & Environment said it was concerning that the system was not yet in place, but this was not grounds to delay the rules.

"Unfortunately, this is the only piece of meaningful non-CO2 [aviation emissions] legislation in the world," T&E's aviation technical manager Carlos López de la Osa said, noting that parts of the industry had previously opposed the climate policy.

Separately, Brussels is drafting plans, due next month, to simplify some other climate reporting regulations, after pushback from some governments and industries who say EU green rules have become overcomplicated and are raising costs for businesses.

NEATS was supposed to compile data points including the global warming potential of different pollutants, weather and flight paths, to largely automate the monitoring of emissions.