Twenty-one organizations, including associations whose objective is the reduction of the environmental impact of transport, companies that are active in the development of clean fuels and associations and companies in the railway sector, have sent a joint letter to representatives of the European Union recalling Attention on developments in the revision of the European Directive ETD (Energy Taxation Directive) for the taxation of products energy and electricity and on the possibility that the ongoing negotiations for the revision of the rule may lead to the extension until 2049 of the tax exemption for fuels fossil fuels used by aviation and maritime transport.

"This," the organizations explain in the letter not only is it contrary to the spirit of the initial proposal of the European Commission to revise the ETD by phasing out fossil fuel subsidies as part of its package Fit for 55, but also contravenes the international commitments of the COP28, in which EU countries called for "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies were phased out by 2030, as well as the Committee's scientific opinion on climate change to 'reduce the drastically the use of fossil fuels'".

In the opinion of the 21 organizations, "this iniquitous will continue to hamper the introduction and deployment of sustainable technology value chains to aviation and maritime sectors here in Europe, as well as sustainable alternatives such as rail, since both continue to struggle to compete with free air transport taxes powered by fossil fuels".

Recalling that the EU, in its "Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy" presented by the European Commission at the end of the 2020, "committed to making travel less than 500 kilometers with zero carbon emissions by 2030 and doubling high-speed rail traffic in Europe by 2030", the organisations note that, "continuing to exempt fuel for from taxation, the aviation sector can offer artificially low prices on routes that are (or may be be served by the railway, making it almost impossible for the to compete fairly and preventing a transition to this greener mode of transport. In fact Greenpeace found that, on average, travelling by train costs twice as long as air travel in Europe, which is one of the main obstacles preventing passengers from to switch from the plane to the railway. The price gap between aircraft and rail must be bridged by reducing ticket prices and at the same time making air transport pay for its emissions".

Furthermore, the undersigned observe that "the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) will require significant investments and acceleration to meet the decarbonisation needs of the sector by 2050. More for a long time, fossil fuels will remain the most economic for the sector - they specify in the letter - less investors will focus on financing the development of more expensive, even if cleaner, and therefore Only in the long term will economies of scale be able to reduce initial costs. Without a strong signal to the market that the fossil fuel for aircraft no longer has a future for power aviation, SAF producers will struggle to compete with low jet fuel prices. The producers of zero-emission aircraft - the 21 organisations - also have an interest in ensuring that the conditions market are favourable to the long-term use of sustainable energy sources such as hydrogen, which will again have difficulties in growing if the use of fossil fuels will be still encouraged through tax exemptions".

Furthermore, the letter underlines that "do not tax the aircraft fuel on all flights departing from Europe has represented in 2022 a tax gap of 10.7 billion euros for EU-27 governments. Every year - it is highlighted - European governments lose billions in revenue that could be reinvested in the transition to sustainable alternatives such as digitalisation and interoperability of the rail sector (e.g. the implementation of ERTMS technology) and decarbonisation of the same air transport sector. For ERTMS, it is estimated that €80 billion will be needed to cover the entire TEN-T network. It is also estimated that by 2050 there will be A total of between 500 and 800 SAF plants are needed, which, assuming 1.8 billion euros per plant, it would translate into around €36 billion in investments per year between 2025 and 2050".

For the 21 organizations, cancel the tax exemption for fuels for air transport would also mean remedying A social injustice: "It is becoming socially unsustainable for citizens - they wrote in the letter - to pay High taxes on essential goods such as heating their train journeys or refuelling their cars, while flights operated by businessmen to New York or by tourists to Dubai continue to be tax-free. Maintain exemptions for certain sectors, while others have the burden of contribute to climate efforts, contradicts the goal of the EU Green Deal to ensure a socially fair transition and undermines the fight against climate change."

Finally, the organizations specify in the letter that "Increasing the cost of using jet fuel not only would it encourage the aviation sector to use efficient flight routes, but also more efficient aeronautical technologies efficient to reduce fuel consumption. A similar loophole in the EU's energy taxation framework will represent a missed opportunity to improve the EU's energy autonomy. According to the International Energy Agency, the trains are on average at least 12 times more efficient from the point of view energy per passenger compared to aircraft. It is in the interest of the EU's national sustainable industries, development of railway services, the decarbonisation of the sectors aviation and maritime transport and EU citizens who We therefore urge you to ensure that fuels for the sectors sea and air are finally taxed".

The letter, which was addressed to the representative Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU, to the ministers European Finance and Economic Affairs, the Commissioner for Finance and Economic Affairs designated for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, is has been signed by Transport & Environment, ALLRAIL, Association of European Railway Rolling Stock Lessors (AERRL), Back on Track, BLOOM, Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Carbon Market Watch, Eco-Union, EDL, European Energy, H2V, Nature & Milieu, Nordic Electrofuel, Norsk e-fuel, Opportunity Green, Sciaena, Seas At Risk, SkyNRG, trainline, VCÖ and Zero.