In the past, greenhouse gas emissions were only higher in 2019, the year before Corona – and a further increase is to be feared for 2024, the mobility organization VCÖ announced on Monday. There is potential for savings, for example on business flights, and more cross-border rail connections in the EU are crucial. Further countermeasures mentioned were the reduction of bureaucratic and technical hurdles in train traffic and the abolition of the tax exemption for kerosene in air traffic. “For example, avoid using video conferences instead of business flights, shift to train or bus where possible, improve through the faster use of e-kerosene produced with renewable energy,” are the strategies of VCÖ expert Katharina Jaschinsky.
Asfinag: Business flights reduced to 188
By reducing its business flights, Swiss reinsurance has reduced CO2 emissions from business trips by 70 percent in 2022 compared to 2018, the VCÖ continued. The global consulting company Arcadis has the goal of reducing CO2 emissions from business flights by 50 percent by 2025 compared to 2019, and business trips of up to 700 kilometers must take the train. In Austria, for example, Asfinag reduced the number of business flights from 661 in 2019 to 188 in 2023. Erste Group is increasingly relying on video conferences instead of business flights and is pushing business trips by train within Austria.
“Europe needs more rail”
The VCÖ sees a challenge for the EU and its member states to expand and improve the cross-border rail service. “Europe needs more rail. In addition to expanding and modernizing the infrastructure and more international connections, booking and planning international rail trips must also become much easier,” emphasizes VCÖ expert Katharina Jaschinsky.
Last but not least, the phase-out of fossil energy in air traffic must be accelerated. To achieve this, the tax exemption for fossil aviation fuel at EU level must finally be abolished; the aviation fuel kerosene is still exempt from mineral oil tax. Before the pandemic, a study commissioned by the EU Commission estimated this subsidy in the EU at around 30 billion euros per year. In addition, there is the VAT exemption for international flight tickets, which before the pandemic amounted to around 40 billion euros per year across the EU.
