In 2020, ACR was among the first crediting programs approved by the ICAO Council to supply emission reduction and removals credits to airlines for use towards their obligations under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) for the 2021-2023 cycle. In 2021, we became the first crediting program approved by ICAO to supply post-2020 vintage credits in the 2021-2023 cycle. The decision was based on our program rules — which are aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement — that ensure the avoidance of double counting of credits used for CORSIA with countries’ mitigation targets under the Paris Agreement.

ACR is approved for all project types, without limitations, for which the first crediting period began no earlier than January 1, 2016, for emissions reductions or removals that occur through December 31, 2023. All CORSIA-qualified credits are labelled on the ACR Registry.

In 2023, we became one of the first crediting programs to receive approval to supply credits for the 2024-2026 compliance period. Eligible credits include those issued to activities that started their first crediting period on or after January 1, 2016 and that represent emissions reductions that occurred from January 2021 through December 2026.

The ACR Registry uses labels to designate certain carbon credit attributes such as those listed below. This section details the meaning of those labels and the ACR process for labeling carbon credits.

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation – CORSIA Eligible. The following explains the “CORSIA Eligible” label within the Registry.

ACR has been approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council to supply 2016-2020 vintage carbon credits issued under ACR’s methodologies active at the time of ICAO approval, as updated from time to time including publication of new methodologies, except for any exclusions as detailed in the published ICAO Eligible Emissions Unit Criteria document, for use by airlines in the 2021-2023 Compliance Period (Pilot Phase). 2016-2026 vintage carbon credits will be labeled as CORSIA Eligible when they meet the following criteria:

• Project’s first Crediting Period begins on or after 1/1/2016*
• Project’s contribution to the UN SDGs is documented in the GHG Project Plan
• For projects required to contribute to the Buffer Pool or Reserve Account, the carbon credits contributed also satisfy the criteria above

ACR has been approved by ICAO to supply post-2020 vintage carbon credits issued under ACR’s methodologies active at the time of ICAO approval, as updated from time to time including publication of new methodologies, except for any exclusions as detailed in the published ICAO Eligible Emissions Unit Criteria document, for use by airlines in the 2021-2023 Compliance Period (Pilot Phase) and 2024-2026 Compliance Period (First Phase). Post-2020 vintage carbon credits will be labeled as CORSIA Eligible when they meet the criteria outlined above for 2016-2020 vintage carbon credits, along with the following criteria:

• Credits have been authorized by the host country for use by airlines towards CORSIA compliance obligations in a Host Country of Letter of Authorization delivered to ACR and to the UNFCCC
• Project Proponent has submitted an ACR-approved CORSIA Double Claiming Compensation Mechanism
• All requirements have been met as detailed in Appendix B of the ACR Standard

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation – CORSIA Pending. ACR also has a CORSIA Pending designation to demonstrate that a carbon credit is not CORSIA Eligible for use by airlines to meet compliance obligations, but could be labeled “CORSIA Eligible” as meeting all eligibility criteria listed above, pending further actions.

• For 2016-2020 vintage carbon credits, a CORSIA Pending designation indicates that the Project Developer needs to supply additional information, such as documentation of project contributions to SDGs, or update the contribution of carbon credits to the Buffer Pool if it was not made with CORSIA Eligible carbon credits as required for the CORSIA Eligible designation.
• For post-2020 vintage carbon credits, a CORSIA Pending designation indicates that all of ICAO’s Emission Unit Criteria requirements have been met except for the submission to ACR and the UNFCCC of a Host Country Letter of Authorization, as detailed in Appendix B of the ACR Standard, in addition to Project Proponent submission to ACR of an ACR-approved CORSIA Double Claiming Compensation Mechanism. The probability of any given unit ever obtaining host country authorization is not known.

*For Programmatic Design Approach projects with a first Crediting Period that began prior to 1/1/2016 and added Sites after that date, the Site-specific Implementation Date can be used to assess eligibility against this requirement, provided that the carbon credits generated by the project can be distinguished between carbon credits from Sites that do and do not align with the eligible start date.