IATA announces alliance to support CORSIA mechanism

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the creation of an alliance to support the expansion of the supply of eligible emission reduction units under the global CORSIA mechanism.

Report's correspondent dispatched to Rio de Janeiro informs that Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist, said this at a press conference held as part of IATA"s 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS).

According to her, the new initiative will bring together participants in the CORSIA ecosystem to increase the volume of available eligible emission reduction units to 225-250 million by spring 2027.

"The purpose of the alliance is to pool the resources of interested organizations and remove existing bottlenecks through targeted, practical and pragmatic support. In particular, this concerns simplifying the interaction between countries' national climate commitments under the Paris Agreement and the procedures required to provide carbon credits for use in the CORSIA system," Thomsen said.

She emphasized that the alliance will also help expand countries' access to carbon markets and related financial and technical resources.

According to Thomsen, CORSIA remains the only globally agreed system for regulating emissions from international aviation, established by member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2016.

"However, states have their own emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The need to transfer credits between these systems to avoid double counting has become one of the main obstacles to market development. The alliance will provide practical assistance in removing this and other barriers that limit the entry of credits into the CORSIA market," she said.

Thomsen noted that in the first stage, the implementation of the CORSIA mechanism could attract $4 billion to $5 billion in climate finance, while by 2035 this figure could reach $100 billion, depending on price dynamics in the carbon market.

"This will make it possible to finance climate projects, support remote communities and stimulate economic development. We invite carbon market participants and specialized organizations to join the alliance to help CORSIA realize its social, economic and climate potential," IATA"s senior vice president added.