Contact: Katie Kouchakji, press@ieta.org  

LONDON, 31 October – IETA is urging the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council to adopt proposed eligibility criteria for its sectoral emissions offset programme.

The ICAO Council, comprised of governmental representatives, is meeting from 30 October-17 November in Montreal. The Council will be considering the work done so far by its Global MBM Technical Task Force to prepare for the Carbon Offsetting Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which will begin in 2020. This includes proposals on eligibility criteria for offsets, which would see airlines cleared to use credits from existing programmes such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), Climate Action Reserve (CAR), and American Carbon Registry (ACR).

“Airlines are seeking signals from the Council so that they can start preparing for CORSIA now, and not in three years when costs may be higher,” says IETA’s CEO and President Dirk Forrister. “We urge the Council to approve the work by the Task Force so that businesses can get to work.”

“The CDM, VCS, CAR and ACR are tried and tested programmes, with a wealth of experience and environmental integrity, leaving them well placed to serve the aviation sector,” says Sophy Greenhalgh, Managing Director, Aviation at IETA. “Beyond the high-level criteria, further specific detail about activities and credits accepted for CORSIA is essential to supporting environmental integrity of the system and allowing investment in good time.”

For more on IETA’s Aviation work, please contact Sophy Greenhalgh on greenhalgh@ieta.org. To keep up to date with IETA’s work, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.