The European Union’s General Court has ruled that private jets can be classified as a green investment, overturning a 2023 regulation by the European Commission that excluded them from the EU’s sustainable finance taxonomy. The decision was issued following a legal challenge by French aerospace manufacturer Dassault Aviation, which argued that the Commission’s ban on private jets was unlawful.

Dassault, known for producing the Falcon business jets and Rafale fighter aircraft, contended that the exclusion improperly targeted private jets based on their carbon emissions. The court agreed, noting that the environmental impact of private jets primarily arises from their operation rather than their manufacturing process—the latter being the focus of the taxonomy list intended to guide sustainable economic activities.

The ruling also criticized the Commission’s rationale for barring private jets due to their comparatively higher CO2 emissions per passenger kilometer relative to commercial aircraft, trains, buses, and cars. The court noted that commercial transportation modes cannot always match the speed and flexibility provided by private jets, factors which the Commission had not sufficiently taken into account. Additionally, the court highlighted that the Commission failed to consider the potential use of sustainable aviation fuels, such as those derived from used cooking oil, which could reduce the carbon footprint of private jet operations.

The decision has been met with concern from environmental campaigners who have long targeted private jets as emblematic of disproportionate carbon emissions within the aviation sector. Critics argue that private jets serve the wealthiest individuals and multinational corporations and have called for stronger restrictions. For instance, climate activist Greta Thunberg condemned private jet travel during a 2024 protest against the expansion of Farnborough Airport, the United Kingdom’s largest business jet hub, describing it as a sacrifice of people and the planet for extreme lifestyles.

Campaign group Possible similarly has urged for grounding private flights amid the ongoing fuel crisis driven by geopolitical tensions affecting oil supply routes, such as the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The group estimates that suspending approximately 100,000 private flights originating from the UK annually could free enough aviation fuel to enable roughly 730,000 family round-trip flights between London and Malaga.

The ruling by the EU General Court presents a significant legal setback for the European Commission’s efforts to classify sustainable economic activities and signals ongoing tension between environmental objectives and industry interests in the bloc’s approach to aviation emissions.