The Air Navigation (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) Order 2021

Avoidance of conflict of interest⁸¹2If the leader of the verification team undertakes six annual verifications for one aeroplane operator, the leader of the verification team must take a three-consecutive year break from providing verification services to that same aeroplane operator. The six year maximum period includes any greenhouse verifications performed for the aeroplane operator prior to it requiring verification services under this Order.3The verification body, or any part of it, must not be an aeroplane operator, the owner of an aeroplane operator or owned by an aeroplane operator.4The verification body, or any part of it, must not be a body that trades emissions units, the owner of a body that trades emissions units or owned by a body that trades emissions units.5The relationship between the verification body and the aeroplane operator must not be based on common ownership, common governance, common management or personnel, shared resources, common finances or common contracts or marketing.6The verification body must not take over responsibility for any activities from the aeroplane operator with regard to the preparation of the Emissions Monitoring Plan or the Emissions Report, including monitoring of fuel use and calculation of CO₂ emissions.7To enable an assessment of impartiality and independence by the national accreditation body, the verification body must document how it relates to any other parts of the same legal entity.

Management and personnel⁸²8The verification body must establish, implement and document a method for evaluating the competence of the verification team personnel against the competence requirements outlined in ISO 14065:2013, ISO 14066:2011 and sub-paragraphs (10) to (13).9The verification body must maintain records to demonstrate the competency of the verification team and personnel in accordance with sub-paragraph (10).

Competencies of personnel⁸³10The verification body must—aidentify and select competent team personnel for each engagement,bensure appropriate verification team composition for the aviation engagement,censure the verification team includes, at a minimum, a team leader who is responsible for the engagement, planning and management of the team,densure continued competence of all personnel conducting verification activities, including continued professional development and training for verifiers to maintain and develop competencies, andeconduct regular evaluations of the competence assessment process to ensure that it continues to be relevant for this Order.

Validation of verification team knowledge⁸⁴11The verification team as a whole, and the independent reviewer, must demonstrate knowledge of—athe requirements set out in this Order, the Assembly Resolution A39-3⁸⁵, the Environmental Technical Manual (Doc 9501), Volume IV – Procedures for demonstrating compliance with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA)⁸⁶, and any public ICAO explanatory material,bthe verification requirements set out in this Order, and Environmental Technical Manual (Doc 9501), Volume IV – Procedures for demonstrating compliance with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), including materiality threshold, verification criteria, verification scope and objectives and the Verification Report preparation and submission requirements,cthe eligibility criteria for technical exemptions, scope of applicability, State pair phase-in rules, and State pair coverage set out in this Order and the Assembly Resolution A39-3,dthe monitoring requirements set out in this Order, andethe national requirements in addition to the provisions set out in this Order.

Validation of verification team technical expertise⁸⁷12The verification team as a whole, and the independent reviewer, must demonstrate knowledge of the following technical competencies—ageneral technical processes in the field of civil aviation,baviation fuels and their characteristics, including CORSIA eligible fuel,cfuel related processes including flight planning and fuel calculation,drelevant aviation sector trends or situations that may impact the CO₂ emissions estimate,eCO₂ emissions quantification methodologies outlined in this Order, including assessment of Emissions Monitoring Plans,ffuel use monitoring and measurement devices, and related procedures for monitoring of fuel use related to greenhouse gas emissions, including procedures and practices for operation, maintenance and calibration of such measurement devices,ggreenhouse gas information and data management systems and controls, including quality management systems and quality assurance / quality control techniques,haviation related IT systems such as flight planning software or operational management systems,iknowledge of approved CORSIA Sustainability Certification Schemes relevant for CORSIA eligible fuels under this Order, including certification scopes⁸⁸, andj except when carrying out the verification of an Emissions Report, basic knowledge of greenhouse gas markets and emissions units programme registries.13Evidence of these competencies must include proof of relevant professional experience, complemented by appropriate training and education credentials.13AWhen conducting the verification of an Emissions Report, paragraphs (12)(a) to (i) apply.

Validation of verification team data and information auditing⁸⁹14The verification team as a whole must demonstrate detailed knowledge of ISO 14064-3:2006, including demonstrated ability to develop a risk-based verification approach, perform verification procedures including assessing data and information systems and controls, collect sufficient and appropriate evidence and draw conclusions based on that evidence.15Evidence of data and information auditing expertise and competencies must include previous professional experience in auditing and assurance activities, complemented by appropriate training and education credentials.

Use of contracted validators and verifiers⁹⁰16The verification body must document roles and responsibilities of the verification personnel, including contracted persons involved in the verification activity.

Outsourcing⁹¹17The verification body must not outsource the final decision on the verification and the issuance of the verification statement.18The independent review must only be outsourced as long as the outsourced service is appropriate, competent, and covered by the accreditation.

Confidentiality⁹²19The verification body must ensure it has the express consent of the aeroplane operator prior to submission of the verified Emissions Report and the Verification Report to the Regulator. The mechanism for authorising this consent must be specified in the contract between the verification body and aeroplane operator.

Records⁹³20The verification body must keep records on the verification process for a minimum of ten years, including—aclient’s Emissions Monitoring Plan and Emissions Report,bVerification Report and related internal documentation,cidentification of team members and criteria for selection of team, anddworking papers with data and information reviewed by the team in order to allow for an independent party to assess the quality of the verification activities and conformance with verification requirements.

Agreement⁹⁴21The contract between a verification body and an aeroplane operator must specify the conditions for verification by stating—ascope of verification, verification objectives, level of assurance, materiality threshold and relevant verification standards; namely ISO 14065:2013, ISO 14064-3:2006, this Order and the Environmental Technical Manual, Volume IV,bamount of time allocated for verification,cflexibility to change time allocation if this proves necessary because of findings during the verification,dconditions which must be fulfilled to conduct the verification such as access to all relevant documentation, personnel and premises,erequirement of the aeroplane operator to accept the audit as a potential witness audit by the national accreditation body’s assessors,frequirement of the aeroplane operator to authorise the release of the Emissions Report, and the Verification Report by the verification body to the Regulator, andgliability coverage.

Verification of Emissions Report

3

• (1) This paragraph sets out the procedures required of verification bodies for the verification of Emissions Reports.

ISO standard2The verification team must conduct the verification according to ISO 14064-3:2006, and the following additional requirements.

Level of assurance⁹⁵3A reasonable level of assurance must be required for all verifications under this Order.

Objectives⁹⁶4When conducting the verification of an Emissions Report, the verification body must perform sufficient procedures to conclude whether—athe greenhouse gas assertion is materially fair and an accurate representation of emissions over the period of the Emissions Report and is supported by sufficient and appropriate evidence,bthe aeroplane operator has monitored, quantified and reported its emissions over the period of the Emissions Report in accordance with this Order and the approved Emissions Monitoring Plan,cthe aeroplane operator has correctly applied the method of flight attribution documented in the approved Emissions Monitoring Plan and in accordance with articles 8 and 9 to ensure a correct attribution of leased aeroplane and international flights, operated by other aeroplane operators under the same corporate structure,dthe stated amount of emissions reductions from the use of CORSIA eligible fuels is materially fair and an accurate representation of emissions reductions over the reporting period, and is supported by sufficient and appropriate internal and external evidence,ethe claimed batches of CORSIA eligible fuels have not also been claimed by the aeroplane operator under any other voluntary or mandatory schemes it has participated in, where the emissions reductions from CORSIA eligible fuels may be claimed, during the current compliance period, as well as the compliance period immediately preceding it, andfthe aeroplane operator has monitored, calculated and reported its emissions reductions associated with the use of CORSIA eligible fuels over the reporting period in accordance with this Order.

Scope⁹⁷5When conducting the verification of an Emissions Report, the scope of the verification must reflect the period of time and information covered by the report and the CORSIA eligible fuels claims, where applicable.6This must include—aCO₂ emissions from aeroplane fuel monitoring methods, calculated in accordance with articles 22, 23, 26(1) to (4), 28 and 29, andbemissions reductions from the use of CORSIA eligible fuels.7The scope of the verification of the CORSIA eligible fuel claims in the Emissions Report must include the following—aany internal aeroplane operator procedures for CORSIA eligible fuels, including aeroplane operator controls to ensure the claimed CORSIA eligible fuels satisfy the CORSIA Sustainability Criteria,bchecks for double claiming are limited to the specific aeroplane operator. Any findings outside this scope are not relevant for the verification statement, but they must still be included in the Verification Report for further consideration by the Regulator,cassessment of verification risk with appropriate changes to the verification plan, anddassessment of whether there is sufficient access to relevant internal and external information to obtain sufficient confidence in each CORSIA eligible fuel claim. Where evidence of the sustainability or the size of the CORSIA eligible fuel claim is considered either inappropriate or insufficient, further information must be sought directly from the fuel producer with direct access facilitated through the aeroplane operator.

Materiality⁹⁸8When conducting the verification of an Emissions Report, the verification body must apply the following materiality thresholds—aof 2 per cent for aeroplane operators with annual emissions on international flights above 500,000 tonnes, andbof 5 per cent for aeroplane operators with annual emissions on international flights equal to or less than 500,000 tonnes of CO₂.9When conducting the verification of an Emissions Report, the over and understatements in sub-paragraph (8) must be allowed to balance out in both cases.

General⁹⁹10Prior to the development of the verification approach, the verification body must assess the risk of misstatements and non-conformities and their likelihood of a material effect on the basis of a strategic analysis of the aeroplane operator’s greenhouse gas emissions information¹⁰⁰.11Depending on the information obtained during the verification, the verification body must revise the risk assessment and modify or repeat the verification activities to be performed.

Validation of verification plan¹⁰¹12The verification team must prepare the verification plan on the basis of the strategic analysis and assessment of risks. The verification plan must include a description of the verification activities for each variable that has a potential impact on the reported emissions. The verification team must consider the assessment of risk, and the requirement to deliver a verification opinion with reasonable assurance, when determining sample size.13The verification plan must also include the following—averification team members, roles, responsibilities and qualifications,bany external resources required,cschedule of verification activities, anddsampling plan, including the processes, controls and information to be verified and details of the risk assessment conducted to identify these.

Sampling plan¹⁰²14The Emissions Report sampling plan must include the following—anumber and type of records and evidence to be examined,bmethodology used to determine a representative sample, andcjustification for the selected methodology.

Assessment of GHG data and information¹⁰³15The verification team must confirm that the Emissions Report data has been collected in accordance with the approved Emissions Monitoring Plan and monitoring requirements specified in this Order.16In accordance with the Emissions Report sampling plan, the verification body must carry out substantive data testing consisting of analytical procedures and data verification to assess the plausibility and completeness of data.17The verification team must, as a minimum, assess the plausibility of fluctuations and trends over time or between comparable data items as well as identify and assess immediate outliers, unexpected data, anomalies, and data gaps.18Depending on the outcome of Emissions Report data testing and assessment, the assessment of risk, verification and sampling plan must be amended, where necessary.

Evaluation of the GHG assertion¹⁰⁴19The verification body must use an independent reviewer not involved in the verification activities to assess the internal verification documentation, and the Verification Report, prior to its submission to the aeroplane operator and Regulator.20The independent review, whose scope must include the complete verification process, must be recorded in the internal verification documentation.21The independent review must be performed to ensure that the verification process has been conducted in accordance with ISO 14065:2013, ISO 14064-3:2006 and this Order, and that the evidence gathered is appropriate and sufficient to enable the verification body to issue a Verification Report with reasonable assurance.

Validation and verification statement¹⁰⁵22The verification body must submit a copy of the Verification Report to the aeroplane operator. Upon authorisation by the aeroplane operator, the verification body must forward a copy of the Verification Report together with the Emissions Report to the Regulator. The Verification Report must include—anames of the verification body and verification team members,btime allocation, including any revisions and dates,cscope of the verification,dmain results of impartiality and avoidance of conflict of interest assessment,ecriteria against which the Emissions Report was verified,faeroplane operator information and data used by the verification body to cross-check data and carry out other verification activities,gmain results of the strategic analysis and assessment of risk,hdescription of verification activities undertaken, where each was undertaken, including whether on-site or off-site, and results of checks made on the CO₂ emissions information system and controls,idescription of data sampling and testing conducted, including records or evidence sampled, sample size, and sampling method used,jthe results of all data sampling and testing, including cross-checks,kcompliance with the Emissions Monitoring Plan,lany non-compliances of the Emissions Monitoring Plan with this Order,mnon-conformities and misstatements identified (including a description of how these have been resolved),nconclusions on data quality and materiality,oconclusions on the verification of the Emissions Report,pjustifications for the verification opinion made by the verification body,qresults of the independent review and the name of the independent reviewer, andrconcluding verification statement.23The verification body must provide a conclusion on each of the verification objectives listed in sub-paragraph (4) in the concluding verification statement.24When conducting the verification of an Emissions Report, the verification body must choose between two types of verification opinion statements; either ‘verified as satisfactory’ or ‘verified as not satisfactory’.25If the report includes non-material misstatements or any non-material non-conformities, the report must be ‘verified as satisfactory with comments’, specifying the misstatements and non-conformities.26If the report contains material misstatements or any material non-conformities, or if the scope of the verification is too limited or the verification body is not able to obtain sufficient confidence in the data, the report must be ‘verified as not satisfactory’.

Validation of verification records¹⁰⁶27At the request of the Regulator, the verification body must disclose the internal verification documentation on a confidential basis to the Regulator.28Where issues that may render a previously issued verification statement invalid or inaccurate are brought to the attention of the verification body, it must notify the Regulator.

SCHEDULE 7 — Appeals to Scottish Land Court

1

• (1) A person who wishes to appeal under article 65 to the Scottish Land Court against a decision of the Regulator must—

• (a) send the appropriate form to the Scottish Land Court together with the documents referred to in sub-paragraph (2);

• (b) at the same time, send a copy of that form to the Regulator together with copies of the documents referred to in sub-paragraph (2)(a) and (f).

• (2) The documents are—

• (a) a statement of the grounds of appeal;

• (b) a copy of any relevant application;

• (c) a copy of any relevant plan;

• (d) a copy of any relevant correspondence between the appellant and the Regulator;

• (e) a copy of any notice, or particulars of any deemed refusal, which is the subject matter of the appeal;

• (f) a statement indicating whether the appellant wishes the appeal to be—

• (i) in the form of a hearing; or

• (ii) to be disposed of on the basis of written representations.

• (3) An appeal to the Scottish Land Court may be made on one or more of the following grounds—

• (a) the decision or notice was based on an error of fact;

• (b) the decision or notice was wrong in law;

• (c) the decision or notice was unreasonable for any other reason, including that the amount of a penalty was unreasonable;

• (d) any other reason.

• (4) In this Schedule—

• “appropriate form” has the meaning given by rule 3 of the Rules of the Scottish Land Court Order 2014¹⁰⁷;

• “decision” includes a deemed refusal under this Order.

2

• (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), the appropriate form must be sent to the Scottish Land Court before the expiry of the period of 28 days beginning with the date of the relevant notice for appeal under article 65(1)(b) or date of deemed refusal.

• (2) The Scottish Land Court may accept the appropriate form after the expiry of that period where satisfied that there was a good reason for the failure to bring the appeal in time.

3

• (1) The Scottish Land Court may determine an appeal, or any part of an appeal, on the basis of written representations and without a hearing where—

• (a) the parties agree; or

• (b) the Scottish Land Court considers it can determine the matter justly without a hearing.

• (2) The Scottish Land Court must not determine the appeal without a hearing without first giving the parties notice of its intention to do so, and an opportunity to make written representations as to whether there should be a hearing.

4

• (1) The Regulator must, within 16 days of receipt of the copy of the appropriate form, give notice of it to any person who appears to the Regulator to have a particular interest in the appeal (“interested party”).

• (2) A notice under sub-paragraph (1) must—

• (a) state that an appeal has been initiated;

• (b) state the name of the appellant;

• (c) describe the decision or notice to which the appeal relates;

• (d) state that, if a hearing is to be held wholly or partly in public, an interested party will be notified of the date, time and location of the hearing;

• (e) state that an interested party may request to be heard at a hearing.

• (3) An interested party may request the Regulator to provide the interested party with a copy of the documents set out in paragraph 1(2) only for the purposes of the appeal.

• (4) Where a request is made under sub-paragraph (3), the Regulator must provide the documents to the interested party as soon as reasonably practicable.

• (5) An interested party may—

• (a) make representations to the Scottish Land Court in relation to the appeal;

• (b) be heard at a hearing in relation to the appeal.

• (6) The representations by an interested party must be made within 16 days of the date of the notice under sub-paragraph (1).

• (7) The Scottish Land Court must provide a copy of any representations to the parties.

• (8) The Regulator must, within 8 days of sending a notice under sub-paragraph (1), give notice to the Scottish Land Court of the persons to whom and the date on which the notice was sent.

• (9) If an appeal is withdrawn, the Regulator must give notice to all interested parties about the withdrawal.

SCHEDULE 8 — Appeals to Planning Appeals Commission (Northern Ireland)

1

• (1) A person who wishes to appeal under article 65 to the Planning Appeals Commission (Northern Ireland) against a decision of the Regulator must give to the Planning Appeals Commission—

• (a) written notice of the appeal; and

• (b) a statement of the grounds of appeal.

• (2) The notice of appeal must be accompanied by any fee for the appeal prescribed in regulations made under section 223(7)(b) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011¹⁰⁸; and for that purpose, section 223(7)(b) has effect as if the reference to an appeal under that Act included a reference to an appeal under this Order.

• (3) The Planning Appeals Commission must as soon as reasonably practicable send a copy of the notice of appeal and the statement of grounds to the Regulator.

2

A notice of appeal under paragraph 1 must be given before the expiry of the period of 47 days beginning with the date of the relevant notice for appeal under article 65(1)(b) or date of deemed refusal.

3

• (1) An appellant may withdraw an appeal by giving notice to the Planning Appeals Commission.

• (2) If an appellant withdraws an appeal, the Planning Appeals Commission must give notice to the Regulator of the withdrawal as soon as reasonably practicable.

4

• (1) The Planning Appeals Commission must determine the appeal; and section 204(1), (3) and (4) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 applies in relation to the determination of the appeal as it applies in relation to the determination of an appeal in accordance with that Act.

• (2) The Planning Appeals Commission must—

• (a) determine the process for determining the appeal; and

• (b) when doing so, take into account any requests by either party to the appeal.

Signed

Richard Tilbrook — Clerk of the Privy Council

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order implements the monitoring, reporting and verification requirements of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Civil Aviation (CORSIA) in Volume IV of Annex 16 to the Convention on Civil Aviation adopted by the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation on 27 June 2018.

This Order extends to the whole of the United Kingdom.

Under CORSIA a baseline level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions is established for aeroplane operators undertaking international flights. Aeroplane operators must monitor and report emissions for each year.

Part 1 sets out the general provisions for the Order, including the scope of application and flights to which the Order does not apply, and the definitions of various expressions used in the Order, and specifically the definition for the “aeroplane operator”.

Part 2, in conjunction with Schedules 1 and 5, sets out the administrative provisions for the Order. Chapter 1 sets out the requirements to notify ICAO of the United Kingdom’s voluntary participation in CORSIA, to establish the attribution of aeroplane operators to the United Kingdom and international flights to those aeroplane operators, defines the regulator and the regulator’s tasks, sets out the record keeping requirements, compliance deadlines, and regulates the use of equivalent procedures, and the role of the Civil Aviation Authority. Chapter 2 makes provision in respect of an aeroplane operator’s change in circumstances. Chapter 3 sets out the requirements for the submission of applications and notices under the Order to a regulator, the determination of applications by a regulator, and the service of notices given by a regulator.

Part 3, in conjunction with Schedules 1 to 6, establishes the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) requirements of an aeroplane operator’s annual CO₂ emissions from attributable flights. Chapter 1 sets out the applicability of the MRV requirements. Chapter 2 establishes the requirements for the monitoring of aeroplane operator annual CO₂ emissions. These provisions include the duty on an aeroplane operator to monitor its CO₂ emissions, the monitoring methods available, the requirement for an Emissions Monitoring Plan, the calculation of CO₂ emissions from aeroplane fuel use, and the monitoring of CORSIA eligible fuels. Chapter 3 establishes the requirements for the reporting of aeroplane operator annual CO₂ emissions. These provisions include the requirements on the aeroplane operator to report CO₂ emissions and CORSIA eligible fuel use, and on the Secretary of State to report those emissions for aeroplane operators administered in the United Kingdom to ICAO. Chapter 4, in conjunction with Schedule 6, sets out the standards and requirements for the verification and accreditation bodies and establishes the requirements for the verification of aeroplane operator annual CO₂ emissions and CORSIA eligible fuel use. Chapter 5 sets out the requirement for data management and control. These provisions include the requirements for the management of data gaps, corrective actions, improvements to the monitoring methodology, the rounding of data, and the use of an electronic data exchange and automated systems.

Part 4 makes provision for a regulator to charge for services undertaken pursuant to the Order, subject to the approval of the charge scheme by the relevant minister, its publication, and any revision of the charges.

Part 5 makes provision for compliance monitoring by a regulator or an authorised person. These provisions include the enabling of inspections, the issuing of warrants, and the issuing of information notices by a regulator.

Part 6 sets out the enforcement requirements of the Order. The provisions include the requirements and issue of enforcement and penalty notices by a regulator, and establish the civil penalties which are applied to the specified acts or omissions of an aeroplane operator or other person in relation to the requirements of the Order. Those acts or omissions include failing to apply, or make revised application, for an emissions monitoring plan, failing to monitor emissions, failing to report emissions, failing to keep records, failing to comply with enforcement notice given by a regulator, failing to comply with an information notice, providing false or misleading information, etc. and refusing to allow access to premises for an inspection by a regulator or authorised person.

Part 7, in conjunction with Schedules 7 and 8, establishes appeals bodies, the right of appeal against certain decisions of a regulator, the effect of an appeal on the matter being appealed, and the appeals procedures.

Part 8 gives effect to the Schedules and makes provision for consequential amendments and savings in relation to the retained EU law which introduced the initial monitoring and reporting requirements for CORSIA through the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument, as no significant impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum has been published alongside this Order on the UK legislation website,www.legislation.gov.uk.

Footnotes

Editorial notes