BRUSSELS, January 14 — This decade is decisive in combatting climate change, with record-breaking temperatures registered around the world in 2023 and 2024 and Europe warming faster than any other continent. Aviation, like most other economic sectors, is at a crossroads in its decarbonisation transition. Future environmental goals for noise and emissions reductions have been agreed at the European and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) level, and the last few years have seen significant developments in the European Union under the European Green Deal as well as globally through ambitious objectives.
The 4th edition of the European Aviation Environmental Report (EAER), compiled by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with support from the European Commission, European Environment Agency (EEA), and EUROCONTROL, was released today. It provides an overview of the current progress in achieving these environmental goals, the challenges that the aviation sector faces, and the way forward. It contains historical and future air traffic scenarios and their associated noise and emissions, the latest scientific understanding of these impacts, and key mitigation areas (Technology and Design; Sustainable Aviation Fuels; Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Operations; Airports; Market-Based Measures; and International Cooperation).
The EAER 2025 also reviews the progress made on recommendations from the 2022 edition of the report, highlighting the establishment of sustainability targets at EU and ICAO level and significant developments in the area of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). In addition, the report looks to the future and considers new recommendations that aim to further improve the level of environmental protection and emissions reductions in civil aviation. An example is the need to build on the Single European Sky reforms and develop suitable performance indicators to incentivise better climate and environmental performance in the European aviation network.
European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas: “Environmental sustainability in aviation is the defining challenge of the 21st century and is the key to enabling the sector’s growth while ensuring vital connectivity for our citizens. By monitoring progress in areas such as Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Air Traffic Management performance and by identifying areas for improvement, the European Aviation Environmental Report provides the facts and figures necessary to inform decision-making and keep European aviation aligned with EU and international environmental targets.”
EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet: “Much has been achieved in recent years to set us on the right path. However, we need to move faster. A concerted effort is required now to turn sustainability goals into concrete action. By addressing the issues and opportunities within this report, we will be able to manage an orderly transition to cleaner aviation while maintaining a high uniform level of safety and connectivity. Honest, transparent, and effective communication is critical to securing the trust of European citizens that aviation is indeed acting to become more sustainable and will meet the future goals.”
EUROCONTROL Director General Raúl Medina Caballero:“ Grounded in EUROCONTROL’s air traffic forecast, ‘Aviation Long-term Outlook 2050’, this new report reflects our commitment to transparency and to providing data-driven insights into aviation’s environmental performance. Our aim is to support informed decision-making enabling the sector to make progress towards our shared goal of sustainable aviation. In addition to sustainability matters, our contribution also includes aviation intelligence as well as activities in the field of research & innovation in ATM that, as the EAER shows, can make a relevant contribution to lowering emissions.”
EEA Executive Director Leena Ylä-Mononen: “European aviation, like other transport sectors, has a key role to play in helping us shift to a sustainable future, implementing solutions that support progress in each of the elements of the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. In line with existing climate objectives, airlines, airports, and other sector operators must make their contribution by embracing technologies and practices to reduce their carbon footprint as well as by mitigating environmental impacts from noise and air pollution, including the risk from ultrafine particles. We are pleased to have supported the production of this flagship report which identifies many solutions and opportunities to improve the future sustainability of the sector.”
Following the COVID pandemic, the number of flights at EU27+EFTA airports has recovered to 8.35 million in 2023, which is still 10% below the 2019 level. Longer-term trends suggest that this will grow to 11.8 million annual flights by 2050. More fuel-efficient technology, optimisation of operations, and use of SAF following the implementation of the recent ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation should decouple traffic growth from emissions, which are projected to be reduced in most scenarios. These scenarios also highlight the need for additional market-based measures (e.g. EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)) to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by mid-century. Further measures are also needed to address other sources of pollution from aviation, including noise and emissions of air pollutants such as ultrafine particles, which result in impacts on both environmental and human health.
Monitoring progress over time through the EAER will be critical for making timely adjustments that will keep the aviation sector on track to meet future environmental and sustainability goals.
About the report
The 4th edition of the report has been prepared by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in accordance with Article 87 of its Basic Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2018/1139), with support from the European Commission, European Environment Agency (EEA), and EUROCONTROL.
The EAER provides an objective, clear, and accurate source of information. It acts as a reference document that is published every three years to inform strategic discussions and support the prioritisation of future work and resources to drive forward the issue of sustainability and coordinate a comprehensive approach across different initiatives to meet environmental goals. This joint effort, with input from various stakeholder groups, ensures that the report is a balanced and comprehensive summary on the topic of aviation environmental protection within Europe.
A full overview of key facts can be found in the Executive Summary of the report, alongside Recommendations on how to further improve the level of environmental protection.
