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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has renewed its criticism of the European Commission’s proposed extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) to additional international flights, arguing that the EU should instead focus on making the global CORSIA framework work effectively.

Under the Commission’s ETS revision proposed in July, the EU ETS would be extended beyond its current geographical scope to certain international flights from 2029. The Commission justified the move partly on the basis that ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) has not yet developed sufficiently to provide an equivalent level of climate ambition.

IATA contests this reasoning in a recent interview arguing that international aviation needs one globally harmonised framework rather than overlapping regional carbon-pricing systems, warning that regulatory fragmentation creates uncertainty for airlines and investors and could ultimately affect global connectivity. According to IATA, unilateral departures from the framework agreed through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) risk weakening rather than strengthening international cooperation on aviation emissions.

IATA also argues that the present difficulties with CORSIA largely concern the availability of Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs) rather than the design of the scheme itself. Airlines must purchase eligible carbon credits to meet their CORSIA obligations, but countries hosting carbon projects must first authorise these units under the Paris Agreement. Differences in national procedures have contributed to a shortage of available credits.

To address this bottleneck, IATA has established the Supporting Alliance for CORSIA EEU Supply, which aims to increase the supply of eligible units from around 40 million today to 225–250 million by spring 2027. IATA estimates that CORSIA could generate $4–5 billion in climate finance and reduce around 200 million tonnes of CO₂ during its first phase. The scheme enters its second phase in 2027, when participation becomes mandatory for ICAO members, including major aviation markets such as China, India and Brazil. 

IATA also raises concerns over the EU’s approach to Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), arguing that the ReFuelEU Aviation mandate has so far increased SAF costs without sufficiently stimulating additional production. It points in particular to uncertainty over the documentation airlines need to demonstrate the use of SAF for which they have paid and calls for these issues to be addressed in the 2027 ReFuelEU review.