Last month’s report explored aviation emissions in Hungary this edition shifts focus across the Atlantic to the United States.
Please note as this report is derived from scheduled flight data, emissions linked to the Gulf region may not fully reflect actual flying activity, especially in relation to flight cancellations.
Focus market on this month's report: United States
Key Highlights
- Global passenger aviation emissions for May 2026 are estimated at 68 million tonnes of CO2
- 60% of emissions remain outside compliance schemes, with CORSIA covering 30%, EU ETS 8.5%, and UK ETS 1.5%
- Year-to-date emissions reached 329 million tonnes CO2 slightly above 2025 (327M) and just below 2019 levels (330M)
United States Spotlight
The United States remains the largest contributor to passenger aviation emissions globally, producing:
- 15.4 million tonnes CO2 in May 2026
- 71.9 million tonnes CO2 year-to-date (Jan–May 2026)
Key observations include:
- A significant proportion of U.S. emissions sits outside formal compliance frameworks in contrast to Europe
- Emissions show a modest decline of 1–2% compared with both 2019 and 2025
- Los Angeles, New York JFK, and San Francisco are the highest-emitting airports
- Among major carriers, Frontier Airlines records the lowest emissions intensity (per ASK) while Southwest Airlines ranks highest
Download this month’s report here
CARE Index
The RDC CARE Index scores any air route, airline and aircraft combination between 0 (worst) and 10 (best) based on fuel burn, seat capacity and load factor, use of sustainable aviation fuel, participation in compliance programmes such as EU ETS, and whether the carrier offsets emissions. It's designed to give both consumers and industry a clear, comparable measure of airline sustainability.
Here are the highest-scoring carriers by region in May 2026:
Europe
- La Compagnie 7.9
- Wizz Air UK 7.8
- Norra Nordic Regional Airlines 7.6
- TUIfly Nordic 7.6
- Wizz Air 7.4
North America
- Flair Airlines 6.7
- Frontier Airlines 6.7
- Air Transat 6.7
- Volaris 6.4
- Porter Airlines Canada 6.4
Asia
- Myanmar National Airlines 7.2
- IndiGo 7.1
- UTair Aviation 7.1
- Air Premia 6.9
- Chongqing Airlines 6.8
Rest of the World
- FlyGabon 7.4
- Arajet 7.1
- Congo Airways 7.1
- Fiji Airways 7.0
- Fiji Link 6.9
Full CARE Index rankings across all carriers and regions are available in the full report
Our CO2 data which powers our monthly report has been independently audited and verified and is available via our Scope 3 emissions platform, as a dataset, via an API or as part of a subscription to Apex
Our Scope 3 emissions platform has been developed to allow airports to accurately report upon aviation scope 3 emissions and has now been verified against Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) requirements. If you’d like to find out more get in touch with our team today to discover how RDC can provide the insights you need to stay ahead of environmental regulations and improve your sustainability efforts.
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