Sustainability and Environment
Preparing for Contrail Reporting Requirements in EU
EU could impose a tax on non-CO2 aircraft emissions
A newly developed SAF made from food waste could reduce soot emissions from airliners by 34 percent.
A newly developed SAF made from food waste could reduce soot emissions from airliners by 34 percent.

Sustainability company 4Air is gearing up for aircraft contrail reporting under a 2025 EU mandate that will require aircraft operators to “report once a year on the non-CO2 aviation effects." This includes emissions of nitric oxides (NOx), soot particles, oxidized sulfur species, and effects resulting from water vapor.

The EU will use this data to determine if contrails will be integrated into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) by the end of 2027—in other words, potentially taxing a non-carbon emission under an existing carbon tax scheme. The cumulative net warming impact of contrails is somewhere between 100 percent and 500 percent of the warming impact of CO2 alone, depending on time of day.

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