Climate Change

Ambitious targets

IATA recognizes the need to address the global challenge of climate change and adopted a set of ambitious targets to mitigate CO2 emissions from air transport:

• An average improvement in fuel efficiency of 1.5% per year from 2009 to 2020
• A cap on net aviation CO2 emissions from 2020 (carbon-neutral growth)
• A reduction in net aviation CO2 emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels 

A multi-faceted approach: the four-pillar strategy

IATA is determined to be part of the solution but insists that, in order to achieve these targets, a strong commitment is required from all stakeholders working together through the four pillars of the aviation industry strategy:

• Improved technology, including the deployment of sustainable low-carbon fuels
• More efficient aircraft operations
• Infrastructure improvements, including modernized air traffic management systems
• A single global market-based measure, to fill the remaining emissions gap

A global market-based measure for aviation

At the 39th session of the ICAO Assembly in 2016, ICAO’s Member States adopted a global carbon offsetting scheme for international aviation. ICAO’s Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is the first global scheme covering an entire industrial sector.

CORSIA is set to commence with a voluntary period (2021-2026) after which it will become mandatory. By the end of the ICAO Assembly, 65 states had already volunteered to implement the scheme from its outset, covering approximately 80% of CO2 growth in 2021-2035.

More information

• IATA Press release on adoption of CORSIA
• List of volunteering States
• Industry views on CORSIA (pdf)