Carbon emissions trading and reporting schemes
Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)
If you operate international flights from Northern Ireland you may have obligations to measure your CO2 emissions and offset an amount which cannot be reduced through existing methods.
What is CORSIA?
CORSIA is the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. International governments have adopted CORSIA to stabilise net CO2 emissions from international aviation from 2021.
If a flight takes off from a United Kingdom airport and lands in an airport outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), this flight is subject to CORSIA. Internal flights within the UK and to the EEA are subject to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
CORSIA obligations came into force on 26 May 2021 for UK administered aeroplane operators.
How to comply with CORSIA
Under CORSIA, you will need to monitor and report any international flights attributed to you.
Your broad responsibilities include:
- setting up an Emissions Trading Scheme Workflow Automation Project (ETSWAP) account
- applying for an emissions monitoring plan
- completing tasks in your CORSIA annual cycle by any specified deadlines
- monitoring your emissions
- preparing an annual emissions report
- submitting your verified annual emissions report
If your registered office or your place of residence is in NI, your regulator is Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) – you can contact NIEA about CORSIA by emailing emissions.trading@daera-ni.gov.uk.
If you think you may be an aeroplane operator with obligations under the CORSIA, you must contact NIEA as soon as possible.
You must submit an emissions monitoring plan application within three months of becoming an aeroplane operator. If you miss this deadline, you should contact NIEA straight away.
There may be a penalty if you do not apply for an emissions monitoring plan on time.
If you are an aeroplane operator, you must monitor your emissions from all international flights for each scheme year, and report your verified emissions in the following scheme year. A scheme year runs from 1 January to 31 December.