oneworld, the airline alliance, has become the first to collaborate with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on CO2 emissions calculations. All 13 oneworld member airlines will contribute operational data to IATA’s CO2 Connect emissions calculator. This will significantly enhance the tool’s accuracy and quality by increasing the use of airline-specific fuel burn data.
The 13 oneworld member airlines, including Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and others, will provide data to the IATA CO2 Connect emissions calculator. This initiative aims to empower travellers to make informed choices regarding their carbon footprint by offering high-quality estimates of CO2 emissions for individual flights.
Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Chief Economist, highlighted the importance of providing consistency and alignment in CO2 emissions calculations within the aviation industry. Grace Cheung, oneworld’s Environmental and Sustainability Board Chair, emphasised the collaboration’s role in supporting informed decisions for travellers and enhancing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting.
The IATA CO2 Connect, launched in 2022, utilises member airline data to calculate per-flight passenger CO2 emissions accurately. This initiative covers a vast majority of the global passenger fleet and aims to provide accurate emission data to industry partners through various channels, including API, flat file, and airline sales channels.
A recent opinion poll showed that while most travellers feel responsible for knowing their flight’s carbon emissions, only a fraction currently do so. This collaboration aims to address this gap by providing accessible and accurate carbon emission information to passengers, meeting the industry’s demand for transparency.
IATA CO2 Connect will continue evolving, introducing new features like corporate reporting solutions for accurate business travel emission reporting and compensation solutions. Additionally, a Cargo calculator is under development, catering to shippers and freight forwarders seeking accurate CO2 emissions derived from actual airline data.
The methodology behind IATA CO2 Connect follows stringent guidelines, incorporating factors like fuel measurement aligned with CORSIA, defining emission scopes, non-CO2 emissions, passenger and cargo weight allocation, emissions conversion factors, cabin class considerations, and guidance on carbon offsets and sustainable aviation fuel.