European Aviation Environmental Report 2025 provides key recommendations for a more sustainable future in aviation

On 14 January, the 4^th edition of the European Aviation Environmental Report  was released, providing a comprehensive review of the aviation sector's environmental performance and progress made since the previous 2022 edition. The report offers recommendations on reducing aviation's impact on climate change, noise and air quality. The report recommends focusing on measures such as increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuels, leveraging air traffic management optimizations and adopting more fuel-efficient technologies. By implementing these measures, emissions could be reduced by at least to two thirds by 2050, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. The remaining gap to achieve net zero can then be bridged through out-of-sector initiatives.

Since the previous report, there have been significant developments in the areas of sustainable aviation fuels and improvements in air traffic management related performance.

However, projected growth in air traffic demand, at European and global level, calls for further action. Aviation, like all other transport modes, must play its part and contribute to the EU's ambitious goal of achieving a climate-neutral future by 2050. Air traffic is expected to grow and reach 11.8 million annual flights by then.

This growth does not necessarily need to come at the expense of increased emissions. Decoupling air traffic from environmental impact is not only crucial but also achievable.

Commending the report, Sustainable Transport and Tourism Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas said: “Environmental sustainability in aviation stands as the defining challenge of the 21st century and is key to enabling the sector's growth while ensuring vital connectivity for our citizens. By monitoring progress and pinpointing areas for improvement, the European Aviation Environmental Report provides the facts and figures to inform decision-making to keep European aviation aligned with EU and international environmental targets.”

The report is produced by the Commission, together with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and with the support from the European Environment Agency and Eurocontrol.

A joint press release is available online.

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