The aviation industry committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. On this journey, IATA works with governments, international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and other relevant authorities to foster the support needed to tackle one of the industry’s greatest challenges, but also to raise awareness about the strategy, the detailed roadmaps and the need for balanced approaches by policy makers.
Joint Statements
Joint Statement at COP30: Call for Strengthened Global Cooperation on Aviation Climate Action
November 2025 - At COP 30, IATA, together with the governments of Japan, Malaysia, and leading industry stakeholders, have issued a joint statement (pdf), urging governments and the international community to reaffirm ICAO’s leadership and accelerate coordinated climate action for aviation to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
> Joint statement at COP30 (pdf)
Call to Action at ICAO’s 42nd Assembly: IATA and Industry Partners Urge Governments to Expedite Release of CORSIA EEUs
September 2025 - IATA, together with carbon market stakeholders, is calling on governments worldwide (pdf) to urgently address the extremely limited supply of carbon credits available for airlines to fulfill their obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Specifically, the signatories call on governments to issue Letters of Authorization (LoAs) which enable the release of CORSIA Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs) for purchase by airlines.
> Joint statement at ICAO's 42nd Assembly (pdf)
Joint Statement at UNFCCC COP28: Avoiding Double-Claiming under CORSIA
November 2023 - The International Air Transport Association (IATA), Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), Arab Air Carriers' Organization (AACO), Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA for its name in Spanish) and Airlines for Europe (A4E), are jointly calling on the Conference of Parties to UNFCCC COP28:
- To note the offsetting requirements of CORSIA will start from 1 January 2024
- To acknowledge the proper implementation of corresponding adjustments would ensure no double claiming of CORSIA eligible emissions units
> Double Counting under CORSIA position paper (pdf)
Statements
Statement on Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition Declaration
November 2025 - IATA issued this statement to reject the Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition’s proposed tax on airline passengers, arguing it lacks credible analysis and would harm developing economies. IATA emphasizes that strong air connectivity and globally agreed policies—not new taxes—are essential for sustainable growth and climate action.
> Statement on Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition Declaration
Statement on the Belém 4X Pledge
November 2025 - IATA welcomes the ambition of the Belem 4X Pledge to accelerate the global scale-up of sustainable fuels, which are essential for aviation’s net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 goals. IATA stresses that the pace of SAF adoption depends on scaling up production and requires high-level political and collective action. The success of the pledge relies on globally harmonized policies aligned with ICAO frameworks, especially CORSIA, to ensure consistent carbon accounting and avoid market fragmentation. IATA cautions against unilateral mandates or charges and calls for coordinated international policy support to maintain a level playing field for all stakeholders
> Statement on the Belém 4X Pledge (pdf)
Briefs
Briefing Paper on Direct Air Capture (DAC) and Storage (DAC+S)
The industry’s net zero by 2050 strategys set out the pathways to decarbonize, highlighting the requirement for a combination of different decarbonization levers to achieve this goal. Primarily, Fly Net Zero is expected to be achieved by operational efficiency improvements, the deployment of radical new aircraft technologies, and the use of SAF as the main solution. Although the 2050 goal is net zero, the sector recognizes that between today and 2050 out-of-sector carbon offsets must be utilized to reach interim targets, and the industry must look at a gradual shift toward permanent removals rather than offsets will be required to counterbalance residual emissions and meet the net zero commitment.
Policy Positions
Policy Position on Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF)
Government policy has an instrumental role to play in the deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). IATA encourages policies which are harmonized across countries and industries, while being technology and feedstock agnostic. Incentives should be used to accelerate SAF deployment. Given SAF is in the early stages of market development, mandates should only be used if they are part of a broader strategy to increase the production of SAF and complemented with incentive programs that facilitate innovation, scale-up and unit cost reduction.
> SAF policy approach (pdf)
Policy Position on Non-CO2 Emissions
In 2021 the aviation industry committed to reaching Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2050. Acknowledging the climate warming effect of non-CO2 emissions from aviation, IATA is actively engaging in initiatives for monitoring and developing strategies to address the climate impacts of these emissions and support effective policy making.
> Non-CO2 Emissions policy approach (pdf)
SAF Accounting Based on Robust Chain-of-Custody Approaches
A robust Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) accounting framework, based on trusted chain-of-custody approaches, is necessary to support the global aviation industry’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It is needed to ensure a cost-effective and environmentally efficient way to incentivize the scaling-up of all technologies, feedstocks, methods, and approaches required for reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the SAF supply chain, and for rendering immaterial the physical matching of SAF supply and demand in any specific geographic location.
> SAF Accounting policy paper (pdf)