The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has established the Civil Aviation Decarbonization Organization (CADO) to oversee its soon-to-be-rolled-out Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Registry.

The new organization aims to advance decarbonization efforts in global aviation.

"CADO will turbo-charge the imminent launch of the IATA-developed SAF Registry. Its mandate is to manage the SAF Registry as a separate entity from IATA with an open and global approach that supports the scrutiny needed to build trust among all stakeholders. In fact, the door is open for any stakeholder in the SAF value chain, including governments, to join CADO. This inclusive approach should also be a force for the harmonization of the principles on which all SAF registries operate," said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist.

The SAF Registry will track SAF transactions in a standardized, transparent manner and will allow airlines and corporate customers to claim environmental benefits under regulatory obligations and voluntary schemes.

The registry aims to address the limited global availability of SAF by connecting airlines with SAF producers and suppliers. It also provides corporate customers access to in-sector emissions reductions and co-financing opportunities to decarbonize aviation.

"The SAF Registry is a critical piece of market infrastructure that is indispensable in building a global, transparent, and liquid global market for SAF. The industry's commitment to build the Registry and establish CADO to manage it should inspire governments, fossil fuel producers, and investors to engage in the SAF market with commensurate vigor," said Willie Walsh, IATA's director general.

"Ramping up SAF production is the common goal, and the structure we are putting in place with CADO is an important step in moving decarbonization forward," he added.

CADO is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Montreal. IATA serves as its founding member and will provide technical support and operational assistance.

IATA said membership to CADO is open to organizations involved in or contributing to the SAF value chain; states or quasi-state entities interested in the SAF Registry's operations and benefits; and groups indirectly benefiting from SAF adoption in aviation.

IATA is developing the soon-to-be-launched SAF Registry as a global system to record SAF transactions in a standardized and transparent way. It ensures that the environmental benefits of SAF can be tracked as they move across the SAF value chain and enables airlines and corporate customers to claim these against regulatory obligations and voluntary schemes.

IATA said the SAF Registry will help solve the challenge of limited SAF supply, which is acutely scarce and available in only a few locations globally, by connecting airlines with SAF producers and suppliers, regardless of their geographical location.

In addition, it gives airlines' corporate customers access to in-sector emissions reductions and capitalizes on firms' capacity to co-finance the cost of decarbonization.

Participation in the registry will be free until April 2027, after which it will operate on a cost-recovery basis.