Oka, The Carbon Insurance Company™ (Oka) today announced that Gold Standard has authorised Oka’s Corresponding Adjustment Protect™ as an approved insurance policy for carbon credits issued under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
The approval brings to a close Gold Standard’s three-month assessment process, launched in July, to evaluate private insurance solutions for Gold Standard Verified Emission Reductions (GS-VERs). It is one of several registries to make insurance a prerequisite for CORSIA-tagged credits — a measure designed to prevent double counting, where the host country claims an emission reduction against its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) after having issued a Letter of Authorisation (LoA) approving its international transfer.
Gold Standard requires developers to manage double counting risk in one of two ways: either by providing evidence that a corresponding adjustment has been recorded in the country’s Biennial Transparency Report (BTR); or by submitting a Deed of Undertaking, backed by an approved policy, that guarantees “robust” replacement or compensation if credits are double-claimed.
Corresponding Adjustment Protect™ fulfils this second route, providing the developer with financial compensation with which to replace void credits in the event of a failed corresponding adjustment. In so doing, the policy protects both developer and airline against reputational and regulatory risk, while also ensuring the integrity of any associated environmental claim.
“Following a year of engagement with Gold Standard and developers seeking coverage, we are delighted that Corresponding Adjustment Protect™ is formally embedded in the CORSIA market infrastructure as an approved insurance policy,” said Chris Slater, Oka Founder & CEO. “This marks an important step towards unblocking the supply of high-quality CORSIA Eligible Emissions Units — and at a critical moment, given the potential impending shortfall of potentially tens of hundreds of millions of units, coupled with airline compliance requirements that enter effect in just 15 months. We look forward to facilitating developer access and, by extension, supporting the aviation sector in meeting its regulatory requirements.”
Corresponding Adjustment Protect™ is the world-first dedicated policy for CORSIA Eligible Emissions Units (EEUs), launched in June 2024 in collaboration with developer DelAgua. In December of the same year, governing body the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognised the role of dedicated insurance policies — including Oka’s — to guarantee carbon credits.
CORSIA is expected to drive a multi-billion-dollar demand surge for high-quality offsets, as global air travel continues to rebound and sustainable aviation fuel deployment lags. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) — having warned repeatedly of impending bottlenecks amid slow supply — last month revised its demand forecasts to 237m credits between 2024 and 2026: an increase of almost 50% from last year’s estimate. With mandatory offsetting beginning in 2027 and a limited pool of approved credits available, insurers are set to play an increasingly pivotal role in scaling the market.
“Approving these insurance products gives project developers more routes to meet CORSIA requirements,” added Margaret Kim, Gold Standard CEO. “It will enable more projects to supply credits for CORSIA’s first phase, in a way that is reliable and based on solid foundations.”
