ANAC and the industry discuss carbon offsets on international flights

On February 23rd and 24th, the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) promoted a workshop on the requirement for carbon offsetting on international flights by Brazilian airlines. The discussions will be treated as contributions to the process of construction and regulatory impact analysis on a regulation that is being carried out by the Agency and that provides for carbon emissions in the country.

During the two days, representatives from ANAC, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Mines and Energy and companies from the airline and environmental sectors discussed the perspectives on the impacts of CO2 emissions worldwide and the possible implications, costs and benefits of an implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) in Brazil.

The workshop’s objective was also to bring the regulator closer to its regulated entities and to understand how the implementation of CORSIA will impact the Brazilian civil aviation sector, especially the national airline operators, who presented their environmental plans for carbon neutralization and their respective rates and percentages of performance.

At the opening of the event, ANAC director Tiago Pereira reinforced that the environmental sustainability agenda is a priority for the Agency. “We hope that this workshop will make it possible to issue regulations that are more adjusted to the needs, peculiarities and realities of our sector,” he stated.

IATA’s representative, Jes Halim Nauckhoff (Manager Policy – Environment and Sustainability – Energy Transition), reinforced the importance of Brazil bringing the regulation closer to practices already applied internationally, as well as the need for the entire industry to work aligned on this agenda. “IATA appreciates the opportunity offered by ANAC. We share Brazil’s and ANAC’s desire to maintain a strong and consistent CORSIA and are encouraged by the important work undertaken by the Agency to ensure that the views of all airlines and other industry stakeholders are considered,” he concluded.

Representing the Ministry of Infrastructure, National Secretary of Civil Aviation Ronei Glanzmann said that the Federal Government is enthusiastic about CORSIA, but that it is widely understood that the ultimate solution to CO2 emissions is large-scale biofuel production. “We will only be able to have a full environmental commitment to sustainable aviation when we are able to put sustainable fuels in our airplanes,” he pointed out.    

Understanding CORSIA

CORSIA is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) program for reducing and offsetting CO2 emissions from international flights. Its goal is to achieve carbon neutral growth, meaning that emissions are stabilized at levels observed in 2020, without the airline industry having to stop growing.

CORSIA seeks to ensure that aviation fulfills its role in the global effort to combat climate change, while reducing the costs incurred by air transport through the purchase of carbon credits. Typically, the credits are issued by other sectors of the economy that have cheaper and more efficient alternatives to reduce their CO2 emissions than the airline industry itself.        

Brazil at CORSIA

Brazil is included in the scope of the CORSIA countries and started the process of monitoring the international CO2 emissions of its airline operators in January 2019. ANAC is the body responsible in Brazil for implementing CORSIA and overseeing air operators. Resolution No. 496, dated November 28, 2018 (available only in Portuguese) contains the guidelines that Brazilian operators must follow to comply with the program's requirements.

In the voluntary phase of CORSIA, only the monitoring, reporting, and verification of CO2 emissions are performed by operators on routes involving Brazil. Data on emissions monitored and reported by Brazilian operators can be found on the Environment Data page (available in Portuguese only). As of the year 2027, international emissions by Brazilian operators above the levels observed in the average of the biennium 2019-2020 must be offset through the acquisition of carbon credits or through the use of CORSIA eligible fuels, in particular sustainable aviation fuels.

Learn more about CORSIA on the program’s website (available in Portuguese only).

ANAC acts on several fronts to achieve the best result with regard to environmental protection. See the special page containing all the actions implemented by the Agency (available only in Portuguese).