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IATA Calls to Address Limited Carbon Credits

[ October 6, 2025   //   Gary Burrows ]

The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, and carbon market stakeholders are calling on governments worldwide to urgently address the limited supply of carbon credits available for airlines to fulfill their carbon compliance.

Airlines face these obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA.

Specifically, IATA and the signatories want governments to issue letters of authorization, or LoAs, which enable the release of CORSIA eligible emissions units, or EEUs, for purchase by airlines.

LoAs are official documents issued by host countries authorizing the use of carbon credits (known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes or ITMOs) for CORSIA compliance, according to the provisions of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The letters confirm that the emissions reductions associated with a carbon credit will only be counted once, as part of CORSIA, by requiring the host country to apply a “corresponding adjustment” to its own Nationally Determined Contribution.

Without LoAs, IATA said, airlines face a shortage of CORSIA-eligible units, placing CORSIA in jeopardy, and depriving project developers of airline funds as a source of climate finance.

 IATA, which represents some 350 airlines comprising more than 80 percent of global air traffic, forecasts that airlines will require between 146 and 236 million EEUs during CORSIA’s first phase (2024–2026). However, the current supply of CORSIA-eligible units is limited to the 15.8 million credits made available by Guyana.

IATA said the timely issuance of LoAs would:

• Create a robust and transparent market for CORSIA EEUs.

• Facilitating the successful implementation of CORSIA.

• Safeguarding the environmental integrity of international aviation’s climate commitments.

Yue Huang, assistant director climate policy, in an ICAO Skytalks session at the 42nd International Civil Aviation Organization assembly, in Montreal, Canada, said: “CORSIA is a vital part of aviation’s global climate strategy. Through it, airlines mitigate their climate impact by funding verified emissions reductions in other sectors.

“In generating this climate finance CORSIA also plays a key role in both environmental and socio-economic progress, especially in developing countries. To unlock CORSIA’s climate finance potential and ensure its contribution to aviation’s decarbonization, states must authorize the release of EEUs.”

To assist states in issuing LoAs, IATA has published guidance documents and offers practical tools (https://tinyurl.com/mrywxhtc) and workshops.

Signatories to the joint statement are IATA, African Airlines Association, Air Transport Action Group, Airlines Association of Southern Africa, Airlines for America, Airlines for Europe, Airlines International Representation in Europe, Arab Air Carriers’ Organization Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, European Regions Airline Association, Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association, and National Airlines Council of Canada.

Carbon market stakeholders are the International Emissions Trading Association and Global Carbon Council.

Project developers include Burnstoves, Hestian, Iceberg, Koko Networks, Korea Carbon Management, Sistema.bio, UpEnergy, Valor Carbon and WeAct.

Tags: CORSIA, ICAO Skytalks, International Air Transport Association