By Wallace Mawire
Zimbabwe has joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) states and supporting partners alliance to expand the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
The country has joined other countries like Zambia, Madagascar, United Kingdom and Guyana who have signed the Aviation Carbon Market Compact to enable emissions trading.
The countries which signed the compact incuding Zimbabwe have commited to put in place the mechanisms to supply carbon emissions units that are eligible for trading as part of the global aviation carbon market to underpin the worldwide Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
CORSIA is a global programme of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and participation in it becomes mandatory for most countries from 2027.
However, there is currently a shortage of available eligible emissions units (EEUs) which airlines must be able to buy and sell as credits to offset the carbon emissions generated by international flights.
At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the World Air Transport Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil earlier in June 2026, IATA launched an industry alliance to lobby and remind governments of their obligations to ensure the provision of sufficient EEUs and to put in place the mechanisms to accelerate them.
By 2028, airlines will need to purchase around 200 million EEUs worth as much as US$ 5 billion.
With demand for air travel reflecting population expansion and GDP performance, the annual EEU requirement is expected to rise to over 2 billion over the next decade.
IATA estimates that Africa has the potential to supply up to 57.6 million EEUs, signalling the monetary and economic benefit governments stand to forego if they are not ready for CORSIA.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the number of entities participating in the Supporting Alliance for CORSIA Eligible Emissions Unit (EEU) Supply has reached 50, with two important developments.
The Governments of Guyana, Madagascar, the United Kingdom, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, signed the Aviation Carbon Market Compact and joined the Supporting Alliance.
Several other national governments have expressed their interest in joining the initiative, including Peru.
The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and the Verified Carbon Market Collaborative, data partner Sylvera, and Airbus have also joined and are providing technical and financial support to the Alliance’s activities.
The Alliance aims to raise awareness of the need for market action, and to help scale the supply of high‑quality emissions units for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) to meet expected demand of 225-250 million CORSIA EEUs by spring 2027.
This is expected to be achieved by pooling resources and expertise in a targeted way, with practical support and implementation assistance to boost the supply of EEUs as rapidly as possible.
The initiatives will also see the facilitation and enabling of countries’ management of the interface between their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the United Nationas Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the process required to make carbon credits available for use under CORSIA.
Also signatory countries will see have access to carbon markets and related resources improved, including carbon finance.
The Supporting Alliance will remain engaged, share information on progress and continually seek opportunities to drive participation in the broad-based collaborative effort.
“The engagement of the governments of Guyana, Madagascar, the United Kingdom, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, as well as the support provided by our partners from across the entire carbon market value chain, shows strong and shared commitment to strengthening the link between market demand and the policy frameworks. These frameworks remain critical to unlocking the full potential of CORSIA EEUs. The CORSIA Supporting Alliance demonstrates tremendous determination across the full spectrum of market participants to work together. We need to ensure that EEUs can be brought to market with the speed and scale required,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.
“With CORSIA now coming into force, the global community has an unprecedented opportunity to channel capital toward impactful climate action. This new framework for increasing the supply of high-integrity compliance carbon credits for international aviation reflects years of progress in improving carbon market integrity, transparency, and governance, while helping establish the trusted infrastructure the aviation sector needs to make essential climate progress. The Supporting Alliance’s plan to provide targeted, coordinated assistance for host countries to authorize credits and open access to carbon markets is timely and essential and High Tide is delighted to support efforts to make sure we don’t miss this moment,” said Alexia Kelly, Director, The Carbon Policy and Markets Initiative at High Tide Foundation, representing the Verified Carbon Market Collaborative.
“IETA is supporting the CORSIA Supporting Alliance and the Aviation Market Compact to bring together airlines, governments, and carbon market leaders around a shared objective, delivering a CORSIA market to support global aviation decarbonization.
The success of CORSIA will depend on collaboration across the entire value chain and IETA said it is proud to support the effort and to work with host countries and partners to unlock the full potential of Article 6 and CORSIA,” said Dirk Forrister, President and CEO, IETA.
The Compact signatories and Supporting Alliance members include Governments: Guyana, Madagascar, the United Kingdom, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Carbon market stakeholders include Acelen, Aither Group, Artio, CFC, Climate Action Reserve, Climate Impact X, Ecoeye, Econetix GmbH, Gold Standard, Guangzhou Iceberg, Gunvor, ICE, IETA, Kita, Korea Carbon Management Ltd, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Oka, Planethos, Project Developer Forum, Resilient LLP, South Pole, Sylvera, UpEnergy, Verified Carbon Market Collaborative, Vitol, Xpansiv, and WeAct.
Airlines and other aviation stakeholders: Air Asia, Air France-KLM, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Austrian Airlines, China Airlines, Corsair, Egyptair, IAG, Japan Airlines, KM Malta Airlines, Lufthansa Group, Pegasus Airlines, Qatar Airways, Scoot, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, along with the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization and Airbus.
Implementation Assistance Sponsors include Airbus, IETA and the Verified Carbon Market Collaborative and the Data Partner is Sylvera.
Governments and stakeholders are expected to join the initiative as momentum builds, strengthening its role in accelerating the availability of CORSIA EEUs.
Organizations and governments have been invited to participate to support the effective implementation of the scheme.
Signatories of the Aviation Carbon Market Compact constitute the Alliance and commit to pursuing the aim of increasing the supply of CORSIA EEUs to 225–250 million emissions units by spring 2027, based on their role in the market for CORSIA EEUs.
The Alliance is said to be open to any organizations and national governments that significantly contribute to the development of CORSIA EEU supply and the robust implementation of CORSIA and the Article 6.2 guidance of the Paris Agreement.IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents over 370 airlines accounting for some 85% of global air traffic.
The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) since 1999 has been the leading voice of business on ambitious market-based climate change solutions and driving net zero.
IETA advocates for trading systems for emissions reductions and removals that are environmentally robust, fair, open, efficient, accountable, and consistent across national boundaries.
Representing around 300 leading international organizations, IETA is a trusted partner in developing international policies and market frameworks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the lowest cost while building a credible path to net zero emissions.
The Verified Carbon Market Collaborative (VCM+) is a global initiative uniting leaders across science, policy, finance, and practice to build the next-generation Verified Carbon Market,a market that is trusted, equitable, and capable of delivering 5 billion tons of high-integrity climate outcomes and mobilizing $100 billion in finance between 2026 and 2035.
Carbon markets operate across a distributed system of international rules, national policies, standards bodies, registries, and regulatory frameworks.
No single institution governs the system end-to-end.
Rather than replace or duplicate the work of existing institutions, the collaborative acts as a central coordinator, aligning efforts, mobilizing resources, and amplifying progress across the fragmented landscape.
It supports scaled implementation and resources for both compliance and voluntary markets and actors.
