The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) council has endorsed the EU’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which aims to tackle carbon dioxide emissions in aviation.
This month, at the 214th council session of the ICAO in Montreal, Canada, parties to the organisation endorsed the main set of requirements of the CORSIA scheme, and will decide on other elements of the implementation of the programme during the next council session this autumn. With this endorsement, the ICAO has demonstrated its commitment to combating carbon dioxide emissions in aviation.
The endorsement of the EU’s plan is a vital step towards securing the agreement, which could represent a significant step in meeting global climate targets set as part of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Which elements of the EU plan have been agreed?
The agreement for the scheme was initially reached in 2016. The fundamental elements of the plan include an obligation for airlines to monitor and report their emissions from 2019 as the first step towards creating a more strategy for reducing carbon dioxide emissions in aviation. To be agreed in autumn are rules on the use of biofuels and credit to offset aviation emissions in the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme.
In a joint statement, European Commissioners Violeta Bulc and Miguel Arias Cañete welcomed the endorsement by the ICAO of some of the key elements of the CORSIA scheme. They said: “The EU leads by example: [it has been] effectively addressing European aviation emissions since 2012 through its emissions trading system and will come forward with implementing rules on monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions for CORSIA this year.”
On the EU’s part, the next stage of implementing CORSIA is to encourage its international partners to join, and to adopt measures and begin implementation ahead of a voluntary phase beginning in 2021.
