Carbon offsetting for international

aviation
Three goals Four Pillars
Air transport is a vital feature of our modern, globalized Aviation is approaching the challenge of achieving its
world, connecting people and businesses across oceans climate goals through a four-pillar strategy:
and continents. The global aviation industry supports over
63 million jobs and accounts for 3.5% of global GDP ($2.7 • The development of new, more efficient aircraft and
trillion – based on 2014 data). engines can substantially decrease CO2 emissions.
New technology aircraft are, on average, around 15-
The benefits of air travel are clear, but this connectivity 20% more fuel-efficient than the models they replace.
creates an environmental challenge. In 2016, civil aviation, Sustainable aviation fuels, which are already being
as a whole, emitted around 814 million tonnes of CO2, used on certain commercial flights, will have the
which is roughly 2% of man-made carbon emissions. Our potential to cut emissions by up to 80%.
industry recognizes that our operations contribute to
• Operational measures include identifying weight
climate change and we are taking the responsibility to
savings in the current fleet, allowing the aircraft to
lessen this impact extremely seriously. Indeed, in 2009, the
burn less fuel. Airlines have been investing in
aviation industry set three global goals to address its
lightweight seats and cabin equipment and even
climate impact:
replacing heavy pilot manuals with tablet computers.
Other operational measures include single-engine
• An annual average fuel efficiency improvement of
taxiing, idle reverse thrust, and ATC procedures such
1.5% from 2009 to 2020. The industry is on track to
as continuous descents into airports and traffic flow
meet this short-term target.
management that prevent unnecessary airborne
• Stabilize net CO2 emissions at 2020 levels with holding.
carbon-neutral growth. The Global Market-Based
• The ‘infrastructure’ pillar of the strategy relates mainly
Measure is one of the elements that will enable the
to navigational improvements, making better use of
industry to meet the mid-term goal of carbon-neutral
airspace and streamlining the routes taken by aircraft
growth 2020, by complementing technology,
to cut down on flight time, and optimizing airport
sustainable aviation fuels, operational and
layout to improve throughput and prevent
infrastructure measures.
unnecessary holding.
• Reduce aviation’s net CO2 emissions to half of what
• The industry remains confident that technology,
they were in 2005, by 2050. Achieving this ambitious
operational measures and better infrastructure will
goal will require continued investment in new
provide long term solutions to ensure the sustainable
technologies and strong support mechanisms for the
growth of the aviation industry through partnership
deployment of sustainable aviation fuels.
between industry and government. However, we also
acknowledge that a global market-based measure is
needed to fill any remaining emissions gap until those
other measures have taken full effect.
 Carbon offsetting
CORSIA Offsetting is an action by a company or individual to
compensate for their emissions by financing a reduction in
On 6 October 2016, the 39th ICAO Assembly concluded emissions elsewhere. While carbon offsetting does not
with the adoption of a global market-based measure require companies to reduce their emissions “in-house”, it
scheme to address CO2 emissions from international provides an environmentally effective option for sectors
aviation. The agreement at ICAO demonstrates that where the potential for further emissions reductions is
aviation is determined to live up to its commitments and limited or the abatement costs are unduly high.
play its part in meeting international goals for emissions
reduction. Offsetting and carbon markets are a fundamental
component of global, regional and national emissions
The scheme established by ICAO is a global offsetting reduction policies. They have operated for decades for
mechanism, called CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and compliance purposes and voluntary emissions reductions
Reduction Scheme for International Aviation). CORSIA and continue to be an effective mechanism to underpin
aims to help address any annual increase in total CO2 action against climate change.
emissions from international civil aviation from 2021.
While both offsetting schemes and cap-and-trade
The aviation sector is committed to advances in mechanisms allow companies to purchase emissions
technology, operations and infrastructure to continue to reductions – offsets or allowances – from other companies
reduce the sector’s carbon emissions. Offsetting is not and sectors to compensate for their emissions, offsetting
intended to replace these efforts. Nor would the CORSIA offers the advantage that an offset certified under robust
make fuel efficiency any less of a day-to-day priority. criteria will always represent a tonne of CO2 which has
Rather, CORSIA can help the sector achieve its climate been avoided or reduced.
targets in the short and medium term by complementing
emissions reduction initiatives within the sector. Offsetting is also more effective than a tax, as a carbon tax
merely requires companies to pay for their emissions,
Avoiding the patchwork without any guarantees that the payment will lead to any
emissions reductions.
In recent years, there has been a marked increase in the
number of carbon pricing instruments, such as carbon
taxes or emissions trading schemes, applied around the Special circumstances and
world. A similar proliferation of carbon pricing instruments
on aviation would result in an unsustainable and costly
respective capabilities of states
patchwork of measures for operators and for In order to take into account the special circumstances
governments. The implementation of CORSIA will avoid the and respective capabilities of States, CORSIA will be
need for existing and new carbon pricing measures to be implemented in phases.
applied to international aviation emissions on a regional or
national basis. • From 2021 until 2026, only flights between States that
volunteer to participate in the pilot and/or first phase
While the costs associated with CORSIA are not will be subject to offsetting requirements.
insignificant, they are manageable for operators, especially • From 2027, all international flights will be subject to
when compared with the costs that would result from offsetting requirements, except flights to and from
multiple national or regional schemes, which would Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island
generate divergent compliance requirements for individual Developing States (SIDs), Landlocked Developing
operators and therefore also increase the risk of market Countries (LLDCs) and States which represent less
distortions. This observation is reflected in Assembly than 0.5% of international RTK, unless they volunteer
Resolution A40-19, which determines that CORSIA is to be to participate.
the market-based measure applying to CO2 emissions
from international aviation. Nevertheless, all operators will have to report emissions
for all international flights since 1 January 2019, including
flights to/from exempted States.

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Environmental integrity Voluntary offset standards and
There are many ways to achieve CO2 reductions that can
be used as offsets, many of which bring other social,
REDD+
environmental or economic benefits relevant to To ensure there is a sufficient volume of eligible emissions
sustainable development. Offsets can be sourced from units, it is critical that operators have access to a broad
various types of project activities, including, for example, range of units from existing offset programs and projects
wind energy, clean cook stoves, methane capture forestry that meet ICAO’s eligibility criteria.
and other emissions-reducing or avoidance projects.
The Resolution adopted by the ICAO Assembly stipulates
To ensure the environmental integrity of CORSIA, the ICAO that emissions units generated from mechanisms
Council has adopted a list of emissions units that can be established under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement
used for compliance. shall be eligible for use in CORSIA, provided they align with
decisions by the ICAO Council.
The Council’s decision was informed by a
recommendation from the Technical Advisory Body and In addition to UNFCCC and Paris Agreement units, there
guided by eligibility criteria to guarantee that emissions are several offset standards which could offer high-quality
units deliver the desired CO2 reductions. offsets for international aviation and could be considered
for CORSIA, including voluntary offset standards and
The criteria are based on principles commonly applied REDD+.
under existing trading mechanisms and well-accepted
carbon offset certification standards. Several standards were developed to provide companies
and individuals wishing to compensate their emissions on
• A key requirement is that the CO2 reduction or a voluntary basis the certainty that the offsets they
removal used as an offset be ‘additional’ to business- purchase are environmentally effective. Provided these
as-usual activity. Offsets must also represent a standards meet ICAO’s criteria, they could make high
permanent reduction of emissions that cannot be quality offsets available to aviation, often with co-benefits
reversed. Similarly, an activity that generates offsets for biodiversity, employment, health and more.
should not result in unintended increases in emissions
elsewhere. Examples of offset certified under voluntary standards
include those from wind energy, landfill methane, and
• To quantify the greenhouse gas reduction benefits smaller community-focused energy efficiency and clean
from an offsetting project, a baseline must be cook stove projects. They also include offsets from
determined to represent what would have happened if REDD+, a voluntary mechanism developed by the Parties
the project had not been implemented. Emissions to the UNFCCC to reduce emissions from deforestation
reductions will need to be quantified using accurate and forest degradation.
measurements, valid protocols, and be audited.
The possibility to generate offsets under REDD+ creates a
• Emissions Units Programs will need to demonstrate
financial incentive for countries to reduce emissions from
that they have procedures in place to track units and
forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to
to avoid that an emissions reduction is counted more
sustainable development. Beyond emissions reductions,
than once towards attaining climate change
the conservation and sustainable management of forests
mitigation.
delivers a wide range of social, environmental and
• Emissions units programs will also need to have economic benefits, such as the preservation of
safeguards in place to address environmental and biodiversity, support to local communities and the
social risks. protection of the forests’ vital ecosystem functions.

Over the last decade, the REDD+ sector has established

robust methods to quantify emissions reductions and
establish realistic baselines supported by empirical
evidence. “Buffer” carbon offsets typically are also set
aside to address concerns related to permanence and
cover potential losses in REDD+ projects, for example due
to forest fires.

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International Standards Sustainable aviation fuels
Operators will be entitled to claim emissions reductions
and Recommended from the use of alternative fuels, provided the fuels in
question meet defined sustainability criteria and are

Practices certified by an approved certification scheme.

On 27 June 2018, the ICAO Council adopted the First In order to be eligible for CORSIA, an alternative fuel must
Edition of Annex 16, Volume IV, which includes the deliver at least 10% in greenhouse gas savings and must
international Standards and Recommended Practices not be made from biomass obtained from land with high
(SARPs) for CORSIA. carbon stock. IATA supports the development of a broader
set of sustainability criteria for fuels claimed under CORSIA
Emissions monitoring, reporting and the continuing work in ICAO to complement these
core requirements. A globally harmonised approach to
and verification sustainability will provide clarity that will help to remove
In accordance with the new standards, all operators with barriers to the take up of alternative fuels and supporting
annual emissions greater than 10,000 tonnes of CO2 have investment in this vital new sector.
to report their emissions on an annual basis since 1
January 2019 (international flights only). Implementation of the SARPS
IATA considers it fundamental that the SARPs were
The SARPs require that operators monitor their CO2
adopted as the new Volume IV of Annex 16 to the Chicago
emissions on the basis of the actual fuel use of each
Convention. This will ensure the necessary level of
individual international flight, in accordance with one of the
uniformity in regulations which our industry needs and
five approved fuel use monitoring methods. In certain
which is recognized by both Article 37 of the Chicago
circumstances, operators may be eligible to use simplified
Convention and ICAO Assembly Resolution A39-22.
monitoring and estimate their emissions using the CERT,
an estimation tool developed in ICAO.
Uniformity is not only key to prevent market distortions,
but also to preserve the environmental integrity of
In order to guarantee the accuracy of the data reported by
CORSIA.
operators to their administrating authority, annual
emissions reports will need to be verified by an
To the extent any State may apply different requirements
independent third party verification body, prior to their
from those established by the SARPs, it is our strong
submission to the State.
position that this could upset the careful structure of
Annex 16, Volume IV, and set a negative precedent against
Offsetting requirements the integrity of the scheme.
At the end of each 3-year compliance period, operators
will have to demonstrate that they have met their The SARPs are the fruit of several years of work
offsetting requirements using eligible emissions units. In undertaken by the technical experts in ICAO’s Committee
line with ICAO Resolution A40-19, the ICAO Council will on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP). They
decide which emissions units are eligible. All operators establish a robust and pragmatic set of requirements,
should have access to all but only those units approved by based on balanced compromises.
the Council. This is critical to avoid market distortions.
We, therefore, urge all ICAO Member States to comply in
The emissions unit eligibility criteria were adopted by the all respects with Annex 16, Volume IV, and to ensure that
ICAO Council in March 2019 and provide a robust their own domestic regulations are fully aligned with the
framework for the evaluation of offset programs and SARPs.
project types. IATA believes that the application of the
criteria ensures an appropriate balance between access to
carbon markets and ensuring that eligible emissions units
bring about genuine emissions reductions.

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