Standards & schemes

CORSIA (aviation offsetting)

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

Carbon market
Issuer / operator
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Geography
Global (international aviation)
Sectors
Aviation
Scope unit
Not yet reviewed. Help review this fact
Current edition
CORSIA — ICAO Annex 16 Vol IV (2nd ed) + annual Eligible Emissions Units / Fuels updates
Edition status
Published
Next edition review
Not yet reviewed. Help review this fact
Access to standard text
Free
Certified unit
Not yet reviewed. Help review this fact
Assurance route
Third-party certification body
Chain-of-custody model
Registry
On-product label
No
Certificate registry
Not yet reviewed. Help review this fact
Grievance / complaints
Not yet reviewed. Help review this fact
ISEAL status
Not yet reviewed. Help review this fact

In brief

What this profile covers

CORSIA — the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation — is ICAO's global market-based measure for international flights. Rather than a voluntary label, it is an agreed UN-agency framework requiring airlines to offset growth in international aviation CO2 above a baseline, using CORSIA-eligible emissions units from approved programmes. The rules live in Annex 16, Volume IV to the Chicago Convention, with the list of eligible unit programmes updated annually by the ICAO Council. Monitoring, reporting and verification of airline emissions follow a defined MRV process routed through national authorities. For claims purposes, CORSIA matters in two ways: it determines which carbon credits an airline may use toward its obligations, and it shapes what "carbon-neutral growth" claims in aviation actually rest on. CORSIA compliance is an offsetting mechanism, not a measure of absolute emissions reduction; holding eligible units supports a compliance claim only within the scheme's rules and periods — it does not by itself substantiate broader climate-neutrality wording.

Conditional relationships

Claims it may support

A relationship does not mean that the standard proves or validates every use of a claim.

Net zero flight” / “CO₂-neutral deliveryMay support subject to conditions · Requires a current valid certificate within the scheme's scope; certification supports but does not by itself prove the claim — wording must reflect certified scope and assurance level.
Evidence and conditions
Edition reviewed
CORSIA — ICAO Annex 16 Vol IV (2nd ed) + annual Eligible Emissions Units / Fuels updates
Covered scope
Aeroplane operator / emissions unit
Market
Global (international aviation)
Evidence normally needed
Current certificate from an accredited/approved certification body, valid for the claimed product, site or scope
Assurance
Accredited verification bodies; only CORSIA-eligible emissions units and fuels count
Chain of custody
Registry-based unit cancellation — claim wording must reflect this custody model
Relationship source ↗
“Sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF) flight claimsMay support subject to conditions · Requires a current valid certificate within the scheme's scope; certification supports but does not by itself prove the claim — wording must reflect certified scope and assurance level.
Evidence and conditions
Edition reviewed
CORSIA — ICAO Annex 16 Vol IV (2nd ed) + annual Eligible Emissions Units / Fuels updates
Covered scope
Aeroplane operator / emissions unit
Market
Global (international aviation)
Evidence normally needed
Current certificate from an accredited/approved certification body, valid for the claimed product, site or scope
Assurance
Accredited verification bodies; only CORSIA-eligible emissions units and fuels count
Chain of custody
Registry-based unit cancellation — claim wording must reflect this custody model
Relationship source ↗

Recognition & legal context

Laws referencing it

No reviewed law references are published.

Provenance4 profile updates
Profile update 4
Imported source-linked claim and dictionary relationship reviews. Public profile remains Founding edition · public beta.
Profile update 3
Added source-linked instrument, organisation and conformity classifications. Public profile remains Founding edition · public beta.
Profile update 2
Initial profile published after recorded site-owner/editor review of the complete standards batch.
Profile update 1
Initial private editorial draft imported from the reviewed standards handover.

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