IATA Carbon Offset Program

There is no alternative to aviation when it comes to long distance and low carbon travel. Carbon offsetting can therefore be seen as an immediate, direct and pragmatic means to encourage action to limit climate change impacts, at least in the short-term.

What is carbon offsetting?

Carbon offsetting is simply a way for individuals or organizations, in this case airline passengers and corporate customers, to “neutralize” their proportion of an aircraft’s carbon emissions on a particular journey by investing in carbon reduction projects.

Carbon offset program

Over 30 IATA member airlines have introduced an offset program either integrated into their web-sales engines or to a third party offset provider.

IATA’s program brings both standardization to the process and makes it possible for airlines of any size to easily introduce a credible and independently validated offset program.

Our program offers best practice in the structure and implementation of carbon offsetting. Offsets are carefully selected and accounted for, and the issue of carbon calculation has been resolved by committing to the ICAO methodology supplemented with actual airline carbon data.

Carbon Offset Program guidelines (pdf)

The IATA Carbon Offset Program - how you can get involved (pdf)

FAQs for airline participants (pdf)

Offset approval standard

The program has been independently audited and approved by the world's highest standard for carbon offsetting - the Quality Assurance Standard. QAS-approved offsets are checked against a 40 point checklist  which includes emissions calculations, carbon reduction project selection and information provision. IATA is one of only four organizations worldwide to meet this standard.