ICAO-CORSIA Scheme under GHGAP – Applications Now Accepted

Bulletin date:
Bulletin number:
2020-26

Action required

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) verification bodies (VBs) who are interested in being accredited for the ICAO-CORSIA scheme should now submit their application to SCC.

 

Affected customers

SCC-accredited and applicant GHG VBs, as well as any other interested VBs who have not yet applied for SCC accreditation.

 

Background

The International Civil Aviation Organization Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation ICAO-CORSIA or “CORSIA” is a new measure agreed by member states of ICAO to offset international aviation carbon dioxide emissions and stabilize their levels. The CORSIA framework and the Canadian Aviation Regulations and other national requirements (depending upon the jurisdiction), support key implementation elements of CORSIA.

 

CORSIA is an important component of the basket of measures to reduce CO2 emissions from international aviation, and to achieve the global aspirational goal of carbon-neutral growth from 2020 onwards, CORSIA addresses annual increases in total CO2 emissions from international civil aviation (i.e. civil aviation flights that depart in one country and arrive in a different country) above the pre-established baseline.

 

As of January 1, 2019, the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) portion of CORSIA began; starting the process of a mandatory annual reporting cycle. The Canadian Aviation Regulations require all commercial and private Canadian operators who meet the CORSIA applicability threshold to:

 

(1) Submit a detailed emissions monitoring plan;

(2) Undertake annual monitoring and complete an annual emissions report;

(3) Have that report verified by an eligible third-party verification body; and

(4) Submit the report and associated verification report to Transport Canada.

 

ISO GHG standards (ISO 14065:2013, ISO 14064-3:2006, ISO 14066:2011) form the basis for CORSIA’s verification scheme.

 

The Canadian Aviation Regulations were amended to include ICAO-CORSIA and published in November 2018. SCC and Transport Canada signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in June 2019 to provide accreditation to verification bodies who would, in turn, provide verification services to the aviation industry.

 

On July 26, 2019 SCC formally announced the expanded Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program (GHGAP) to include Accreditation of GHG Verifiers for ICAO-CORSIA Emissions and Emissions Unit Cancellation Reporting.

 

As a result of this new GHG scheme, the SCC’s Requirements and Guidance (R&G) for Accreditation of GHG Verifiers for ICAO-CORSIA Emissions and Emissions Unit Cancellation Reporting has been published. SCC’s R&G document specifies requirements and guidance for the accreditation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Verifiers.

 

SCC’s ICAO-CORSIA accreditation requirements are in line with the First Edition of the International Standards and Recommended Practices, Environmental Protection – CORSIA (Annex 16, Volume IV) to the Convention on International Civil Aviation as adopted by the Council on 27 June 2018 and Effective 1 Jan 2019. Additional requirements include: ISO 14064-3:2006 Greenhouse gases – Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions, ISO 14066:2011 Greenhouse gases – Competence requirements for greenhouse gas validation teams and verification teams, ISO 14065:2013 Greenhouse gases – Requirements for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies for use in accreditation or other forms of recognition.

 

The ICAO requirements and guidance details have been approved by the ICAO’s council and will be periodically revised to support CORSIA.

 

New requirements

GHG VBs seeking accreditation under the ICAO-CORSIA scheme have the responsibility for demonstrating compliance with the SCC’s Requirements and Guidance; and shall also demonstrate the continued compliance under their established GHG accreditation maintenance cycles.

 

VBs who successfully meet all requirements will be granted accreditation for ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

 

The compliance will be assessed through desk review and witness audit.

 

For the document review and assessment activities VBs will be required to provide SCC the following:

  • Evidence of updates to the management system covering the required ICAO-CORSIA requirements.
  • Evidence of verification personnel / team competency and demonstrated knowledge of the ICAO-CORSIA verification and technical requirements, in accordance with Annex 16, Volume IV to the Convention on International Civil Aviation - International Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs), Appendix 6 Verification; and relevant national requirements. Competencies will be verified through documented information and technical interviews / observations of personnel by SCC technical staff.

 

The witnessing of a CORSIA verification will follow. Whenever possible, SCC will evaluate this new scheme requirement during our regularly scheduled office assessment.

 

Existing customers and new applicants who are interested in applying for the ICAO-CORSIA scheme shall request an application package. 

 

Deadline

There is no set deadline to apply for the ICAO-CORSIA scheme.

 

Questions?

For accreditation program questions, please contact Abdel Kassou, Manager, Compliance and Assessment Services, at abdel.kassou@scc-ccn.ca or +1 613 238 3222 for more information.