EU Eases CORSIA Carbon Credit Rules Amid Global Supply Constraints

The European Union is easing additional eligibility requirements for carbon credits used under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), responding to a significant shortage of eligible credits available to airlines. The adjustment comes as demand for CORSIA-eligible offsets rises during the scheme's first phase, creating concerns about sufficient supply for compliance.

CORSIA is the International Civil Aviation Organization's global market-based mechanism for addressing carbon dioxide emissions from international aviation. Within Europe, the scheme applies to flights that fall outside the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System, with the EU incorporating CORSIA requirements into its aviation climate framework.

The EU's decision to relax additional credit-quality conditions is intended to expand the pool of offsets available to airlines while retaining the core international safeguards governing CORSIA credits. These include requirements related to countries' participation in the Paris Agreement and CORSIA, as well as measures designed to prevent the double counting of emissions reductions.

The development highlights the challenge of scaling international carbon markets alongside rapidly evolving aviation climate requirements.

While greater access to eligible credits may ease short-term compliance pressures for airlines, the effectiveness of CORSIA will ultimately depend on the environmental integrity of credits and the scheme's ability to deliver genuine emissions reductions.

The EU is also reviewing CORSIA's effectiveness in 2026 as it considers how its aviation emissions framework should evolve from 2027 onwards.

CORSIA credit-supply constraints are shaping how airlines and adjacent industries think about high-integrity offset procurement, and the EU easing is a temporary relief rather than a solution. Our climate-action and responsible-investment teams help clients build offset portfolios that stay credible as CORSIA rules evolve and as scrutiny of voluntary carbon markets tightens.