IATA and XCHG confirm partnership to develop an airline carbon exchange for CORSIA emission units
Thu 30 Jan 2020 – A partnership has been announced between IATA and Xpansiv CBL Holding Group (XCHG) to develop the Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE) that will serve as a centralised marketplace for emission units eligible under ICAO’s global carbon offsetting scheme CORSIA. Powered by CBL Markets, an XCHG company, the exchange will provide airlines with CORSIA offsetting obligations secure access to real-time data with full price transparency. CBL and IATA plan to trial the exchange during this first quarter of 2020 with airlines that want to start offsetting voluntary credits as a pilot phase. ACE trading will be supported by the IATA Settlement System and Clearing House and offer seamless and risk-free settlement to airlines, including non-IATA members. The partners say CORSIA eligible units will be listed on ACE once ICAO has published those accepted under the scheme.
“XCHG is thrilled to announce our partnership with IATA to help airlines achieve their carbon emission reduction goals,” said Rene Velasquez, Head of Global Carbon at CBL Markets. “ACE is a level playing field for all airlines, eliminating complexities by providing an efficient solution for sourcing emission units – without needing to enter into contracts with disparate parties.”
Michael Gill, IATA’s Director Aviation Environment, stressed ACE would be open and accessible to both buyers and sellers.
“ACE will ensure that carbon offsets are competitively priced, with the goal of lowering compliance costs and increasing confidence by ensuring that only high-quality, verified offsetting credits are available,” he said. “CORSIA could generate upwards of $40 billion in climate financing – this exchange will play a major role in ensuring success.”
He added: “Air travel creates countless benefits for the world, but it’s essential we accelerate our work towards sustainable flight, as part of the collective fight against climate change. CORSIA is a crucial mechanism for delivering our aim of carbon-neutral growth for international air travel. But we recognise the need to build capacity and deliver solutions in order for airlines to meet CORSIA requirements.”
ICAO’s governing Council is due to discuss emissions unit eligibility at its two-week 219th Session in March when it will consider recommendations from its Technical Advisory Body (TAB), which has been assessing emissions unit programmes against agreed ICAO CORSIA criteria. TAB members recently concluded their fourth meeting to agree individual programme recommendations, as well as eligibility on dates (vintage) and timeframe.
Applications for assessment were received from 14 organisations, with around 11 expected to be recommended for eligibility either immediately or conditionally.
