The European Union’s General Court has ruled that the manufacture of private jets cannot be excluded from the European Union’s (EU) “sustainable investment framework”. This followed a legal challenge from the military and business aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation. The ruling could lead to more national level investment in private and business jet manufacture across the EU.
Why Did the Court Agree with Dassault?
Dassault had put forward the case that the manufacture of private and commercial business aircraft should be considered as a “transitional” industry within the EU’s framework. This category was designed for economic activities that have a relatively high carbon footprint, that can’t be easily abated.
The court determined that, due to the lack of available low-carbon substitutes for private jet travel, it should be classified as a transitional industry. The court stated that the “flexibility, speed, and connectivity” provided by private jets made them unique, and vital to some businesses.
A distinction was also made between the manufacture of private jets, the sector that Dassault specialises in, and their later use.
It was the carbon footprint generated by the use of private jets, which is relatively high in terms of passengers carried and kilometres flown (known as passenger kilometres), which the EU used to justify its initial exclusion from the sustainable investment framework.
How Did We Get Here?
The sustainable investment framework was initially launched by the EU in July 2020, with the stated aim of setting out which “economic activities are aligned with a net zero trajectory by 2050”.
It was hoped that this guidance would be used by member states as a set of criteria by which to evaluate future investment projects and divert funding towards the most sustainable areas.
The decision to excluded private and commercial business aircraft from the list was taken by the European Commission in 2023.
A claim against this exclusion was filed by the European Business Aviation Association on behalf of Dassault in July 2024, beginning the court case which concluded on June 24.
The European Commission has two months to appeal the European General Court’s decision to the European Court of Justice, the higher of the EU’s two courts.
What Could the Ruling Mean in Practice?
There are fears among campaigners that by classifying the manufacture of private jets as sustainable investment, the European General Court risks diverting funding away from public transport.
EU members are encouraged to spend a certain proportion of their annual budgets on sustainable projects and give more favourable taxation terms to companies working in sustainable sectors.
This may benefit private aircraft manufacturers such as Dassault, which recently launched its new Falcon 10X jet.
There will be no immediate change to guidelines surrounding government treatment of the use of private jets however, as that is not considered sustainable, due to its high carbon footprint per passenger kilometres.
Do you support this General Court’s ruling? Does the EU need to invest more in public transport? Let us know in the comments.
