There’s a certain irony in watching the global aviation industry, an enterprise built on speed, precision and international cooperation, being slowed to a crawl by paperwork. Yet that’s precisely where the International Air Transport Association (IATA) now finds itself, pleading with governments to move on and release the carbon credits airlines need to meet their obligations under CORSIA, the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.
In a joint appeal with leading carbon-market players, IATA has asked governments worldwide to issue Letters of Authorisation, or LoAs, for those fluent in climate acronyms. These letters may sound as thrilling as a new set of airport regulations, but they’re critical. Airlines can’t access the CORSIA-eligible emissions units (EEUs) and need to offset their carbon footprint without them.
In bureaucratic terms, that’s a bit like telling pilots they’re cleared for takeoff but forgetting to open the runway.
The bureaucratic bottleneck
The call from IATA and its partners is more than a polite nudge. The association warns that the sluggish issuance of LoAs is jeopardising not just CORSIA’s credibility but also aviation’s broader climate commitments.
“CORSIA is a vital part of aviation’s global climate strategy,” said Yue Huang, IATA’s Assistant Director for Climate Policy, during a recent ICAO Skytalks session in Montreal. “Through it, airlines mitigate their climate impact by funding verified emissions reductions in other sectors.”
Huang added that the system also channels vital climate finance to developing nations, helping fund cleaner technologies and community projects. But there’s a catch: “To unlock CORSIA’s climate finance potential and ensure its contribution to aviation’s decarbonisation, states must authorise the release of EEUs. That is one of our top messages to the 193 member states at the ICAO Assembly.”
The message could not be clearer: without LoAs, the money and momentum stop.
What are these mysterious LoAs?
LoAs, or Letters of Authorisation, are official documents issued by host countries under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 framework. They allow airlines to use carbon credits (technically called Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes, or ITMOs) for CORSIA compliance.
The letters confirm that each tonne of carbon reduction is counted once, not twice, by requiring the host nation to apply a “corresponding adjustment” to its national climate targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Without these letters, CORSIA risks double-counting, confusion, and, worst of all, paralysis. Airlines would have nowhere to buy verified credits, while project developers delivering emissions reductions would lose access to much-needed climate finance.
Only Guyana has issued any CORSIA-eligible credits: a mere 15.8 million units, a drop in the ocean compared with the 146–236 million EEUs airlines will require between 2024 and 2026.
In aviation terms, that’s like trying to fuel a fleet of A380s with a jerry-can.
Africa steps forward
In Montreal, Adefunke Adeyemi, Secretary-General of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), voiced strong support for the scheme and for expediting LoAs.
“Africa expresses support to CORSIA, unlocking access to CORSIA-eligible units and attracting climate finance,” Adeyemi told delegates. “This will enable Africa to show commitment to sustainability and shape global solutions with regional perspectives.”
Her message was unmistakably pragmatic: Africa doesn’t just want to participate in aviation’s low-carbon transition; it wants a fair share of the benefits. “This is about ensuring that our economies and operators benefit fairly from the transition to a low-carbon future.”
Guidance, not guesswork
To help member states navigate the thicket of procedures, IATA has published guidance documents, hosted workshops, and provided practical tools to fast-track the process. Yet despite the support, many governments appear to be moving at the pace of a delayed baggage carousel.
The irony is that CORSIA was designed to simplify things: a single global market-based measure to offset emissions from international flights rather than a patchwork of national schemes.
But unless those letters start flowing, airlines could soon face a shortfall of eligible credits, threatening the world’s confidence in CORSIA’s integrity.
Industry unity – for once
For perhaps the first time in recent memory, aviation’s notoriously competitive players are singing from the same flight plan. Signatories to IATA’s joint statement include the African Airlines Association, Airlines for Europe, Airlines for America, Arab Air Carriers’ Organisation, and the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, representing every industry corner.
They’re joined by carbon-market heavyweights such as the International Emissions Trading Association and the Global Carbon Council, as well as project developers including Burnstoves, Sistema.bio, UpEnergy, WeAct, and others actively delivering verified emission reductions in developing nations.
If aviation’s decarbonisation efforts were an orchestra, this might finally be when they’re all playing the same tune.
The bigger picture
At stake is more than just a compliance mechanism. CORSIA bridges today’s fossil-fuel reality and tomorrow’s sustainable aviation. By purchasing verified carbon credits, airlines aren’t buying indulgences; they’re funding cleaner cookstoves in Africa, biogas projects in Asia, and reforestation across Latin America.
Those investments create jobs, improve air quality, and, in their small but vital way, help to steady the planet’s fever.
But all that depends on something no pilot can control from the cockpit: government signatures.
A gentle prod – or a boarding call?
As Yue Huang diplomatically said, “States must authorise the release of EEUs.” But between the lines, one can almost hear the exasperation shared across the industry.
Aviation, long accused of being slow to decarbonise, has finally taken a coordinated global step. Yet, it finds itself waiting on the tarmac, engines idling, for bureaucrats to clear the paperwork.
It makes one wonder whether CORSIA’s following acronym should be Can Officials Respond Swiftly In Aviation?
Until then, Montreal’s message is simple: governments must stop circling the issue and clear the runway for climate progress.
By Charmaine Lu
BIO:
Charmaine has always had a quiet kind of courage. She grew up in Shanghai, a city that moves at a tempo all its own, and somehow managed to keep her own rhythm studying accounting for the discipline, then the arts for the sheer love of beauty. “I needed both,” she says, “to feel whole.”
When she left China for Sydney in the 1980s, she carried nothing but a degree, a suitcase and a belief that she could start again. The first sea breeze off the harbour felt like permission. She met Stephen, and together they built a family, two children, a home filled with laughter, and a life straddling two cultures without apology.
Work has always been more than a job. Before search engines became the centre of commerce, Charmaine was quietly helping companies be found and read. It is not just SEO, but stories people want to click on. That is still her gift: finding connection in a crowded world.
Her life is less a résumé than a testament to grace under change, the accountant’s discipline, the artist’s eye, and a heart big enough for two continents.
