The Corsia carbon offsetting scheme for airlines which many members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have signed up to, including the UK and EU, is “a joke”.
That is the view of William Todts, chief executive of the Brussels-based Transport & Environment lobby group, who dismissed Corsia as “a carbon offsetting scheme that doesn’t reduce emissions”.
He pointed out the scheme is based on voluntary commitments and major aviation markets including China, India, Russia and Brazil have not signed up.
Todts insisted: “Corsia is a joke. It is not what we need. It is about preventing the EU from doing something more significant.”
The EU has extended and toughened its emissions trading scheme (ETS) for airlines operating flights within Europe from January 2023, but decided to exclude flights beyond Europe, suggesting these will be covered by Corsia.
Corsia, which stands for the ‘carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation’, is a global scheme enabling airlines to offset growth in CO2 emissions above the pre-pandemic level.
It was introduced in a pilot phase in 2021 and remains voluntary until 2026 – meaning airlines only have to offset emissions above the average growth in emissions in the sector on international routes between states which have joined Corsia.
Todts said: “The EU ETS is better than Corsia. The big difference is it’s a closed system. You can’t plant trees to achieve your goals, you have to reduce emissions. It’s Europe’s main tool for decarbonisation.”
But Todts said: “I have lot of sympathy with [Ryanair chief executive] Michael O’Leary when he says it’s a disgrace that the legacy carriers are excluded from the ETS.”
O’Leary hit out at the EU’s recent decision to apply its emissions trading scheme solely to intra-European flights and exclude flights beyond Europe.
Todts also warned: “The ETS is not going to decarbonise aviation. The carbon prices you would need to force sustainable aviation fuels [SAF] or hydrogen into the system are unimaginable.”
He added that the EU’s Fit for 55 package which aims to reduce emissions 55% by 2030 “is not enough but is a massive step forward”, saying: “Europe was not regulating aviation emissions. Now aviation is one of the central themes of Fit for 55. We have action on emissions trading, action on fuels and the EU is starting to look at non-CO2.”
The Fit for 55 proposals effect a range of sectors including aviation through a toughening of the EU’s ETS, a ReFuelEU plan to accelerate uptake of SAFs and a tax on jet fuel.
Todts said: “We should have a carbon tax. But our goal is to decarbonise aviation, not to tax it.
“The lesson from the auto sector is you get there by regulating, by setting clear goals that apply to all players, so you have a level playing field and investment certainty. Then you let the companies and engineers work to achieve those goals.