ICAO joins alliance to address aviation emissions unit supply gap

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has joined the Supporting Alliance for CORSIA Eligible Emissions Units (EEU) Supply. This alliance, comprising over 80 stakeholders, aims to address critical shortages in the availability of emissions units required for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

IATA reports that while the supply of compatible authorization letters grew to 72 million EEUs by August 2026, a significant gap remains to meet the estimated requirement of 200-250 million EEUs for the initial compliance cycle. The alliance focuses on simplifying authorization processes and preventing double counting to align with the Paris Agreement.

In a related development regarding aviation decarbonization, a market study by IATA, Airbus, and Accenture suggests that corporate procurement could support between 1.0 and 1.9 million tonnes of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) by 2030. This represents a substantial increase from the estimated 323,000 tonnes in 2024.

To realize this potential, experts highlight the need for a robust ‘book-and-claim’ system and clearer accounting regulations to help corporations meet Scope 3 emission targets. Currently, SAF production is expected to meet only 0.8% of total fuel consumption by 2026, and costs remain two to three times higher than conventional jet fuel.