Japan Airlines signs carbon removal credit deal with Climeworks

Japan Airlines will buy carbon dioxide removal credits from Climeworks, the Swiss direct air capture company. Both firms call the deal a first for an airline.

Climeworks said the credits are structured to meet the requirements of ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation. Its Climeworks Solutions unit will build a portfolio of CORSIA-eligible removal credits from pathways that include soil-based carbon sequestration and biochar carbon removal. The credits are meant to support the Japanese carrier's compliance during CORSIA Phase 1, the voluntary phase that runs through the end of this year.

Separately, Japan Airlines agreed to buy an undisclosed number of direct air capture credits from Climeworks. The companies said the purchase is intended to support the longer-term development of engineered carbon removal. Climeworks told FlightGlobal the credits will come from its direct air capture and storage facilities in Iceland, where it runs two plants, Mammoth and Orca. The technology pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it underground, where it is mineralised.

Climeworks said interest in carbon removals from the aviation sector is growing and that it is in talks with several airlines about removal and compliance-ready portfolios. It declined to name customers or prospective agreements at this stage.

Noriko Ogawa, an executive officer at Japan Airlines and chairman of its sustainability promotion committee, said the airline is proud to lead the industry toward net-zero emissions as the first carrier to secure CORSIA-compliant carbon removals.