IATA Calls for Stronger CORSIA Framework as Aviation Emissions Scheme Approaches Ten-Year Mark
Why It MattersThe dispute signals a widening rift between a global carbon-offset framework and regional carbon-pricing expansion, raising the stakes for how international aviation emissions costs are structured going forward.
Ten years after CORSIA's adoption at the 2016 ICAO Assembly, the International Air Transport Association has called on governments to reinforce the global framework rather than let competing regional measures fragment it. CORSIA now counts more than 130 participating countries, and by the end of this year the scheme is expected to have mitigated approximately 200 million tonnes of CO2. From 2027, CORSIA is estimated to cover roughly 85% of global aviation emissions, with up to $120 billion in climate finance potentially mobilized through the scheme's conclusion.
Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA's Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, said CORSIA "showcases the best of international collaboration" and could become "one of the most successful examples of climate action and climate finance in practice" with broad participation and consistent implementation.
The call comes amid a European Union review of the EU Emissions Trading System, with proposals to extend it to destinations within 5,000 km of the EU, centered on Frankfurt, and to create a mechanism for comparable carbon-pricing systems with third countries. IATA estimates this expansion would raise EU ETS compliance costs by 40%, reaching EUR 280 billion over 2027–2040, and warned no impact assessment has been conducted on third countries, connectivity, competitiveness, or CORSIA's functioning.
Thomas Reynaert, IATA's Senior Vice President External Affairs, said the EU ETS review "should reinforce CORSIA as the global framework for international aviation, not encourage overlapping regional or bilateral systems," arguing Europe would achieve more by directing aviation revenues toward Sustainable Aviation Fuels, infrastructure and emerging technologies. IATA's recommendations include unified CORSIA implementation without extra-territorial EU ETS extension, removing the proposed "EU ETS as a Service" mechanism, strengthening SAF allowances immediately rather than waiting until 2029, eliminating geographic production restrictions on SAF pathways, and ringfencing aviation-generated ETS revenues for SAF production, infrastructure and emerging technologies.
