Cargo airline logs its first CORSIA retirement

Geo Sky, a Georgian cargo airline founded in 2017, has retired carbon credits under CORSIA for the first time. The airline retired 4,500 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e) in the week ended 20 September 2026, its first retirement under the scheme's first phase.

Geo Sky joins CORSIA ahead of the first deadline infographic.

CORSIA is the carbon scheme for international aviation, run by the United Nations through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It asks airlines to account for the growth in their international-flight emissions by buying carbon credits and permanently cancelling them. That act of cancelling is called a retirement: the credit is locked for good in a registry under the buyer's name, leaving that buyer as the only party able to claim the environmental benefit it represents. CORSIA's first phase runs from 2024 to 2026 and now covers 129 participating states.

Two buyers drove most of the week’s retirements infographic.

Geo Sky's retirement is small in volume, and its significance lies in the milestone. A new airline has begun to meet its CORSIA obligations, a sign that participation is broadening as the sector moves towards its first compliance deadline in January 2028. The 4,500 tonnes made up the entire CORSIA-tagged volume recorded for the week.

Read more: Every $1 invested in environmental action can return $15

Away from aviation, the week's wider retirements concentrated among a small group of large buyers. The 15 biggest together cancelled about 4.26 million tCO₂e, with the two largest responsible for more than 3.35 million tonnes of that total. Much of the remaining compliance-driven volume came from domestic fuel and utility firms in Colombia. Five companies new to the market added a combined 45,500 tonnes, a sign that fresh demand keeps entering alongside the established buyers.

Fresh demand keeps entering the market infographic.

The week's activity spans compliance-driven aviation demand and voluntary corporate buyers: verification, permanence, and real community benefit take years to establish, and demand is rising faster than new supply becomes available. Businesses that move early secure a dependable, traceable supply they can stand behind. Green Earth provides that supply today, with high-integrity carbon credits from nature-based carbon projects that restore ecosystems and support local communities, so you can meet rising expectations for quality with confidence.