At a meeting of its 224th Session this week, the ICAO Council approved new Sustainability Criteria for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) eligible under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), together with the compliance assessment guidance.

In a statement, it said by making use of aviation fuels which meet the new Sustainability Criteria for SAF life-cycle CO2 reduction benefits and other environmental and socio-economic themes, aircraft operators engaged in international flights can claim associated reductions in their CORSIA CO2 offsetting requirements.

“This approval should incentivize the production of SAF so that they can fulfil their important role in aviation’s green transition, and it also emphasizes the continuing importance of pursuing a globally harmonized approach to mitigating emissions from international aviation operations,” said ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano.

The approval of the SAF Sustainability Criteria was complemented by additional CORSIA decisions and progress by the Council regarding its pandemic impact analysis for 2022 CORSIA periodic review, and updates to the CORSIA eligible emissions units, as well as the 2022 process for the Organization’s work on the feasibility of a long-term aspirational goal (LTAG) for international aviation toward the next ICAO Assembly.

The CORSIA offsetting framework has been adopted by countries through ICAO to complement their long standing commitments to pursue continuous air transport emissions reduction through aircraft technologies and operational innovations, and the wider, more affordable deployment of SAF.