ICAO’s new CORSIA scheme at a glance – a milestone towards greener aviation

Abstract

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, aiming at reducing CO2 emissions from international air transport worldwide, became effective in January 2019. Like emission trading schemes or levies, CORSIA belongs to the family of market-based measures which tend to be more economically efficient than traditional “command and control” politics. Air transport is a major contributor to anthropogenic climate change, and it keeps growing at an enormous pace, with the International Air Transport Association forecasting passenger figures to double between 2016 and 2036. CORSIA was developed in close consultation with the industry. A relatively recent research topic is the potential inclusion of non-CO2 effects into the EU emissions trading scheme, to better capture the full climate effects of the air transport sector. Aviation stakeholders and their industry associations are promoting CORSIA as a success.