The UK government gave a controversial Russian cargo airline carte blanche to emit thousands of tonnes of carbon in Britain’s skies without charge – the day after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Volga-Dnepr Airlines was handed 8,700 free credits under Britain’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2022, waiving an estimated £690,000 bill. A spokesperson for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has now confirmed that its predecessor, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, issued the credits on 25 February 2022 – the day after Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine.
