ICAO has launched a Central Registry for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The secure application will allow States to fulfill their reporting requirements under the Scheme.

Adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2016, CORSIA is a market-based mechanism designed to contribute to two global aspirational goals for the international aviation sector: to increase aviation fuel efficiency 2% per year through 2050; and to achieve carbon-neutral growth in the international civil aviation industry after 2020. Under the Scheme, airlines are obligated to cap emissions growth beyond 2020 by buying carbon offsets.

The CORSIA Central Registry is a secure cloud-hosted application supported by a database, where information and data related to airplane operators, verification bodies, international aviation carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, CORSIA-eligible fuels claimed, and cancelled emissions units will be stored. Following approval by the ICAO Council, ICAO will publish documents submitted through the Registry on its CORSIA website.

The launch of the application was mandated by ICAO Assembly Resolution A40-19, which requested the ICAO Council to establish and maintain the CORSIA Central Registry by early 2020 and to continue to develop and update the CORSIA Emissions Unit Eligibility Criteria. In March 2020, the ICAO Council finalized and announced the six approved carbon-offsetting programmes and emissions units eligible for CORSIA’s 2021-2023 pilot phase based on the eight CORSIA Emissions Unit Eligibility Criteria (EUCs). The Central Registry and EUCs are two of the five CORSIA implementation elements.

Activities related to international aviation generate 1.3% of global anthropogenic carbon emissions. Eighty-five States, representing 76.76% of international aviation activities, have committed to the voluntary phase of CORSIA, which lasts from 2021-2026. The second phase (2027-2035) will be mandatory for all States, with exemptions only for least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing States (SIDS), landlocked developing countries (LLDCs), and States with minimal international aviation activity. [ICAO Press Release]