Top EU Court Rules Against Air Berlin in Emissions Rights Dispute

Luxembourg — The European Union's top court has decided against the insolvency administrator of Air Berlin in a dispute over the bankrupt former German airline's outstanding emissions rights on Wednesday.

The European Court of Justice ( ECJ) found a German regulator was correct not to issue the administrator with valuable emission rights after the airline's insolvency in 2017.

Under the European Union's emissions-trading system (ETS), a mechanism to reduce carbon produced in the bloc's economy, businesses purchase credits to permit the emissions they produce.

More efficient companies can sell their allowances to higher polluters.

The credits are financial incentives for businesses to reduce carbon emissions and make the EU's economy more environmentally friendly. The EU wants to slash greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 to fight climate change.

Air Berlin had previously been awarded free emission rights from 2012 until 2020. Airlines during this period received a large part of their credits for free.

After Air Berlin ceased flights in 2017 due to insolvency, the German Emissions Trading Authority decided not to issue the outstanding free credits.

The German Aviation company's insolvency administrator took a case against the regulator at the Berlin Administrative Court arguing the authority had no basis to withhold the credits.

The ECJ has now rejected the view of the insolvency administrator after the Berlin Administrative Court referred the case to the Luxembourg-based judiciary.

The court in Berlin will now have to make a decision on the case after the ECJ ruling.

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