Addressing Non-CO₂ Impacts in Aviation: A Path to Sustainable Flights

The Non-CO₂ Aviation Effects Tracking System (NEATS)

The European Commission is developing NEATS, an IT tool designed to simplify and automate the non-CO₂ effects MRV process. For the 2025 reporting period, NEATS is the only approved tool for this purpose.

Key Features:

1. Automation: Integrates third-party data sources for flight details and trajectory, weather, and aircraft specifications. It uses default values if the operator’s data is unavailable or if the operator simply decides to rely on the default values.
2. Time Horizons: Offers climate impact calculations over 20, 50, or 100 years to assess global warming potential comprehensively as required by the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation.
3. Data Security: Ensures secure data handling and easy access for operators, verifiers, and authorities while maintaining confidentiality.
4. Reduced Data Input: Generates non-CO₂ emissions data using minimal operator’s data, as NEATS supplies 4D flight trajectory and weather information.

Implementation Steps for Airlines

• Geographical Scope: Full geographical scope applies, i.e., intra- and extra-European Economic Area (EEA) flights. However, to facilitate the start of the MRV, for 2025 & 2026, operators are allowed to report as a minimum, EU ETS Reduced scope flights, i.e., intra-EEA flights, flights from the EEA to Switzerland (CH) and the United Kingdom (UK). During this period, operators can voluntarily report an in-between geographical scope (minimum reduced scope plus other extra-EEA flights) or full geographical scope. This decision must be specified in the monitoring plan.
• Monitoring Process: Determine the compliance approach by defining the reporting scope and identifying data inputs: primary data (own data), secondary data (conservative estimates provided by NEATS), and default values (from NEATS). Record this information in internal manuals to support the monitoring plan.
• Monitoring Plan (MP): Once the Commission releases the CO₂ and non-CO₂ combined MP template; submit it to the competent authority for approval within six weeks of non-CO₂ activity performance. You can find a draft version of the template (non-CO₂ related sections) available for download here.

• Monitoring Period: the first period starts on 1 January 2025, and the first report must be submitted by 31 March 2026, aligned with the EU ETS framework.
• Data Collection: Start collecting the following data according to the MP:
  • *Flight information: Flight number, departure/arrival airports, date and time.
  • *Flight trajectory: planned or actual flight trajectory data including timestamp, latitude, longitude and altitude.
  • Aircraft Properties: °Engine UID, aircraft type and *mass along the trajectory.
  • °Fuel Properties: Hydrogen-to-carbon ratio, aromatics content, sulphur, naphthalene and net calorific value. It can be collected from the fuel supplier.
  • *Aircraft performance (optional): fuel flow and engine efficiency along the flight and mass along the trajectory.
  • *Weather Data: Basic for method D (altitude-adjusted humidity, temperature, pressure) or enhanced for method C (advanced parameters through Numerical Weather Prediction – NWP).

[*] Data that can be automatically provided by NEATS.
[°] Default values are available in the Monitoring and Reporting Regulation.

Until NEATS is available and operational, aircraft operators must monitor as a minimum, flight information and aircraft properties for each flight.

• Calculation Methods: Two calculation methods are allowed and can be run in NEATS:
  • Method C (Weather-based): Mandatory for large emitters, using detailed real-time weather and flight data.
  • Method D (Simplified location-based): Available for small emitters (same definition as in the EU ETS), using basic weather and location data.
• Reporting: A separate report as an attachment to the EU ETS annual emissions report must be submitted.
• Verification: Various scenarios are possible depending on the use of primary data by the aircraft operator. If an aircraft operator relies solely on NEATS, using secondary data and default values without any primary data, verification through NEATS, combined with EU ETS verification, is feasible. However, when an operator utilizes primary data, the verification process becomes more comprehensive, with activities varying depending on the complexity of the data inputs.