Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, ICAO reports progress in the global implementation of its Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia).

Last week, the global civil aviation organization officially launched the Corsia Central Registry (CCR), which is a crucial step in the program and considered one of the five “implementation elements.” A cloud-based application supported by a database, it will be used by member states to fulfill their reporting requirements. The CCR will store Corsia-specific information and data on aircraft operators, verification bodies, CO2 emissions, eligible fuels claimed under the program, and canceled emissions units.

“Despite the challenging circumstances, ICAO has been working diligently to put in place all implementation elements of Corsia to ensure that the scheme remains on track, and states have all tools available to comply with their Corsia reporting requirements,” said ICAO council president Salvatore Sciacchitano.

The CCR database will retain records from ICAO states for the duration of the program. While documents containing information and data submitted to ICAO through the CCR will be published on the Corsia website after review by the ICAO council, access to the CCR itself is restricted to authorized users who are nominated by the EU member states.

“Launch of the CCR brings us closer to the full implementation of Corsia,” said ICAO secretary-general Dr. Fang Liu. “In the best spirit of ICAO’s No Country Left Behind initiative, ICAO will continue its efforts to ensure the preparedness of all its member states for Corsia, including through the Corsia assistance, capacity-building, and training program, which will provide training on the CCR.”

ICAO also noted that two new member states have committed to participation in the voluntary pilot phase of the program. Silas Udahemuka and Peter Griffiths, the respective civil aviation authority directors of Rwanda and Kazakhstan, recently informed ICAO of their country’s commitments. This now brings the total of participating member states to 85, representing 76.76 percent of international aviation activities.

According to the organization, international aviation represents 1.3 percent of all carbon emissions generated by human activity, and with ICAO committed to reducing the environmental impact of each flight through a variety of measures, Corsia will play a key role in helping meet its goals for sustainable development.