On June 2, during ICAO Aviation Climate Week in Montréal, the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization announced a deeper partnership aimed at bringing greater transparency and credibility to how the industry tracks the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. The agreement focuses on linking existing SAF registries with ICAO’s monitoring systems so that data on emissions reductions can flow more reliably into both the CORSIA offsetting scheme and the broader push toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The collaboration comes at a moment when SAF remains the single most important lever the industry has to cut its climate impact in the coming decades. While production is still limited and costs remain high, airlines, governments and fuel producers have been building registries to record where SAF is produced, how it is used and what lifecycle emissions savings it delivers. Under the new arrangement, IATA and ICAO will explore how information from these registries, including systems such as the CADO SAF Registry, can directly support ICAO’s Long-Term Aspirational Goal monitoring and reporting methodology. They will also examine ways to align fuel accounting approaches across international aviation.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh described credible tracking as essential. Without clear, trusted data on the emissions reductions actually achieved by SAF, it becomes harder to demonstrate progress, attract investment and maintain confidence among governments and the travelling public. The shared approach is intended to reduce duplication, improve data quality and give states clearer visibility into how their carriers are contributing to global targets.
The announcement fits into the wider program of ICAO Aviation Climate Week, which carried the theme “One Global Path: Advancing Net-Zero Aviation.” Over three days officials and industry leaders discussed policy frameworks, financing mechanisms and implementation support under ICAO’s Global Framework for SAF and other cleaner aviation energies. The IATA-ICAO agreement adds a practical layer to those discussions by addressing one of the most persistent challenges: proving, in a verifiable way, that SAF use is delivering real climate benefits rather than simply shifting emissions accounting around.
For airlines operating under CORSIA, the move could eventually simplify compliance by allowing registry data to feed more directly into offsetting calculations. For the longer-term net-zero goal, it creates a clearer pathway to measure collective progress and identify where additional policy or investment is needed to scale SAF production. Both organizations stressed that the work will require close coordination between governments and industry, with robust systems and high-quality data as the foundation.
As of mid-June the details of how the shared registries will operate are still being developed, but the direction is clear. By aligning the data collected by industry-led SAF registries with ICAO’s formal monitoring processes, the two bodies are trying to close the gap between ambition and verifiable action. In an industry where every tonne of CO₂ avoided matters and where trust in climate claims is under increasing scrutiny, that alignment could prove as important as the fuel itself.