ICAO, a specialized agency of the United Nations, was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 193 Member States.

CORSIA is the first global market-based measure for any sector. It contributes to the achievement of ICAO’s aspirational goal of carbon neutral growth from 2020 onwards complementing other measures such as technological innovations, operational improvements and sustainable aviation fuels. Following CORSIA’s adoption at the 39th ICAO Assembly in 2016, ICAO developed Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and guidance for the implementation of the CORSIA Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system. As of 1 January 2019, all aircraft operating on international routes are being monitored for their CO2 emissions on an annual basis. These emissions will be verified and reported to ICAO starting in 2020 through the CORSIA Central Registry.

By signing the MoU, IAF and ICAO have entered into a cooperation involving the provision of training to accreditation and verification bodies as well as sharing information on CORSIA requirements, IAF requirements and accreditations of IAF Accreditation Body Members in relation to CORSIA, including the IAF relevant scopes and related CORSIA MRV requirements adopted by the ICAO Council and endorsed by IAF.

• “Providing support to Member States on the implementation of CORSIA is one of the key activities of ICAO on addressing the increase of greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation” highlighted ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu. “The cooperation with IAF will play a catalytic role in ensuring that States and verification bodies are ready to contribute towards making CORSIA a success.”

• Xiao Jianhua, IAF Chair, stated: “We look forward to working with ICAO to enable accreditation bodies to adopt CORSIA. Protection of the environment is a key part of IAF’s mission statement, and the recent extension of the IAF MLA to CORSIA as well as the signing of the IAF-CORSIA MoU are valuable steps forward in fulfilling IAF’s goals.”