The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced that 16 small island and lesser-developed states issued notification of their decisions to voluntarily participate in ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) brining the total number of participating states to 104.

In a statement, ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu said the 16 states are Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cook Islands, Gambia, Grenada, Kiribati, Nauru, Oman, Saint Kitts and Nevis, South Sudan, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

ICAO noted that CORSIA is an important element to complement the basket of measures that the organization is promoting to reduce the climate impact of flying — along with technological innovation, operational improvement, and the implementation of sustainable aviation fuels.

ICAO said while the CORSIA implementation of CO2 monitoring, reporting and verification has been fully on-track, more participating states will bring its states closer to meeting the global aspirational goal of carbon neutral growth for international aviation as agreed through ICAO.

"I highly welcome the announcements and engagement of more States to volunteer to join CORSIA. The increasing number of ICAO Member States’ participation in CORSIA sends a strong signal in terms of ICAO’s continued commitment to addressing CO2 emissions from international aviation, as recently emphasized by the Council," said ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano.

ICAO Secretary General Fang Liu noted that the organization will continue its efforts to support States and encourage more to join CORSIA.