Brazil signs commitment for sustainable aviation with ICAO

On October 7, 2022, Brazil signed international commitments to reduce CO2 emissions in international air transport. This is a historic agreement for the sustainability of the airline industry, adopted during the 41st Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The goal is to ensure carbon-neutral growth in Brazilian aviation as of 2027 and 100% offsetting of CO2 emissions by 2050.

In addition, the agreement foresees the implementation of means to help developing countries to achieve the decarbonization of aviation, through cooperation activities, voluntary technology transfer and access to financing.

Long-Term Goal of International Aviation

The agreement sets the long-term goal of international aviation being carbon neutral by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, international aviation must reduce its carbon footprint by, for example, using sustainable fuels extensively, adopting new technologies that reduce aircraft emissions, or offsetting 100 percent of its emissions.

The long-term goal shows commitment to global efforts to reduce CO2 emissions and to the energy transition of international aviation.

Review of CORSIA

In addition to the long-term goal, the revision of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), ICAO’s initiative for reducing and offsetting CO2 emissions from international flights, ensuring neutral growth in emissions, has been undertaken.

CORSIA was adopted by ICAO in 2016 with the aim of helping airline operators meet the goal of carbon neutral growth from 2020. Under the terms of the agreement, airlines operating Brazilian routes internationally will have an obligation to offset their emissions – by purchasing carbon credits – starting in 2027.

The revisions made during the 41st Assembly contemplated Brazil’s demands and reinforced the strengthening of CORSIA as the only global mechanism for offsetting emissions in the sector. The main consequence for the Brazilian market is that the agreement signals the commitment of the airlines operating in Brazil to the sustainable growth of aviation without penalizing the growth of smaller operators. With the adjustments made, companies will now compensate proportionally to their CO2 emissions, and not to their level of growth.

See what the CORSIA revisions were:

- Due to the strong impact of covid-19 on international air traffic, the Assembly revised the baseline that will be considered as the basis for aviation emissions neutrality. Prior to the revision, the baseline considered the average emissions in the years 2019 and 2020. With the revision, the reference line was adjusted to 85% of 2019 emissions, maintaining the scheme's level of ambition;

- Considering market distortions identified by Brazil, the Assembly revised CORSIA to avoid penalizing the sector's growth and allow fair competition between smaller airline operators (with greater growth potential) and larger companies (more consolidated in the market).

Other agreements

The ICAO 41st Assembly was marked by debates and technical discussions about sustainable actions for the future of international aviation.

During the Assembly, besides the environmental agreement, Brazil also joined the cooperation program for the promotion of sustainable aviation fuels, the ICAO Assistance, Capacity Building and Training (ACT) for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) – ACT-SAF, which aims to stimulate the promotion of sustainable aviation fuels.

Brazil has great potential for the production of sustainable fuels and is engaged in supporting developing countries to leverage their production worldwide.

Check out the environment page (available only in Portuguese) and everything the Agency is doing for the sustainability of the aviation.

Want to know more about Brazil's performance at the 41st ICAO Assembly? Read the news about ANAC's participation in the Assembly.