With or without penalties, CORSIA doesn’t score for the climate

The author contends that CORSIA fails to address aviation's climate impact because it only covers emissions above a high baseline and lacks binding national enforcement mechanisms. Even with penalties, the scheme would only cover 20% of emissions for a Brussels-New York flight by 2030. In contrast, the EU ETS is presented as a superior model due to its 100% coverage of intra-EEA flights and harmonised penalties of €100 per tonne of CO2. The document advocates for the European Commission to extend the EU ETS to all departing flights by mid-2026, which could generate up to €9 billion annually by 2030 to fund zero-emission aircraft and high-speed rail.

• CORSIA is structurally flawed because it only applies to emissions exceeding a high baseline, meaning it does not cover all carbon dioxide emissions. For a commercial flight between Brussels and New York, the scheme would cover only 20% of emissions by 2030, even if the United States and Belgium fully implement it with penalties.
• CORSIA lacks binding enforcement because its rules only become mandatory once countries transpose them into national law. There is significant uncertainty regarding how countries will enforce the system ahead of the second phase in 2027, with some suggested penalties as low as $20 per tonne of CO₂.
• The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) provides a more effective model than CORSIA, covering 100% of emissions for passenger flights within the European Economic Area and imposing harmonised penalties of €100 per tonne of CO2 for non-compliance.
• Extending the EU ETS to all departing flights, which the European Commission will assess by mid-2026, could generate up to €9 billion annually by 2030 to support high-speed rail and zero-emission aircraft development.

APA

Helle, J. (2026). With or without penalties, CORSIA doesn’t score for the climate. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/03/04/with-or-without-penalties-corsia-doesnt-score-for-the-climate/

Chicago

Helle, Jenny. With or without penalties, CORSIA doesn’t score for the climate. Carbon Market Watch, 2026. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/03/04/with-or-without-penalties-corsia-doesnt-score-for-the-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Helle |first1=Jenny |title=With or without penalties, CORSIA doesn’t score for the climate |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=4 March 2026 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/03/04/with-or-without-penalties-corsia-doesnt-score-for-the-climate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{helle2026with, author = {Helle, Jenny}, title = {{With or without penalties, CORSIA doesn’t score for the climate}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2026/03/04/with-or-without-penalties-corsia-doesnt-score-for-the-climate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }