ICAOs 41st General Assembly – Summary of key changes to CORSIA

The ICAOs 41^st General Assembly has taken place in Montreal over the past two weeks till 7^th October 2022 and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) underwent its first periodic assessment. The United Nations body for aviation also discussed several relevant topics that include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and policy and financial assistance for achieving lower carbon emissions. 

The Air Transport industry is currently responsible for 2.5% to 3% of global CO2 emissions. In the Assembly, ICAO, IATA, and member states agreed on a new collective long-term global aspirational goal (LTAG) of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Initially, ICAO had planned to use an average of emissions from 2019 and 2020 as a baseline but due to the onset of the Covid pandemic which saw air transport decline rapidly, the baseline has been revised. The new CORSIA baseline from 2024 onwards, is now defined as 85% of CO2 emissions in 2019, and percentages for the sectoral and individual growth factors to be used for the calculation of offsetting requirements from 2030 onwards were also revised. The baseline is the reference period used to measure the growth of CO2 emissions in international aviation.

To achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, organisations, governments, policymakers, financial institutions, and industries will need multiple measures, including the accelerated adoption of new and innovative aircraft technologies, streamlined flight operations, incentives and financing for Biofuel producers, supportive policies, and the increased production and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels, etc.

The states also emphasize viable financing and investment support to achieve the new CO2 emissions goal and supported the new ICAO Assistance, Capacity-building, and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (ACT-SAF) programme to increase the availability and use of SAF. In addition, states requested a third ICAO Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels to be convened in 2023.
 

As per the IATA estimation, 65% of the mitigation needed for net zero emissions in 2050 will come from SAF. In 2021, the industry purchased one hundred million litres of available SAF. The supply remains limited, and the price is far higher than conventional jet fuel. The states and regions are moving in the right direction and taking steps to boost SAF use, with Europe calling for clean fuel mandates under its "Fit for 55 package" and the US aiming to produce 3 billion gallons of SAF by 2030.