CORSIA MRV Readiness
Republic of South Africa
Generated 2026-10-26 · All findings primary-sourced; gaps are stated, never inferred.
Stat block — CORSIA Central Registry
Chapter-3 participationNot a Chapter-3 participant
CORSIA States for Chapter 3 State Pairs, 5th Edition/Rev.1 (2024-09-27)
2019 baselinePilot-phase 9,416,317 t · 85%-of-2019 8,003,872 t
CCR Part II, 2nd Edition (2022-10-28)
2024 emissionsSubject 0 t · Not subject 6,404,596 t · Total 6,404,596 t
CCR Part III, 4th Edition (2025-10-31)
Verification bodynone as of this edition
CCR Part I, 13th Edition (2025-12-19)
CEF claims (2024)0
CCR Part IV, 1st Edition (2025-10-01) — one claim worldwide, a Singapore producer
Attributed operators(CORSIA Aeroplane Operator to State Attributions, 10th Edition, 2025-12-19)
| Operator | Method | Identifier | 2024 emissions |
|---|---|---|---|
| SA Airlink | ICAO Designator | LNK | 306,877 t |
| Safair Operations (Pty) Ltd | ICAO Designator | SFR | 36,433 t |
| South African Airways SOC Ltd | ICAO Designator | SAA | 210,509 t |
- South Africa is not a CORSIA Chapter-3 participant — its 0 t subject-to-offsetting figure is a direct consequence of non-participation, not a data gap.
- All three South African carriers have fully disclosed, non-confidential Table 2 figures — the only state of the 13 where every attributed operator's number is public.
Annex 16 Vol IV — SARP-cited readiness checklist
| Requirement | SARP | Status | Evidence & source | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chapter-3 State-Pair participation decision notified to ICAO | 3.1.3 | not participating | Republic of South Africa is not on the CORSIA Chapter-3 participation list — a sourced negative under ICAO "CORSIA States for Chapter 3 State Pairs", 5th Edition/Rev.1 (2024-09-27); this is a policy decision, not a compliance failure. | — |
| Aeroplane-operator attribution submitted | 1.2.2, 1.2.7 | met | 3 operator(s) attributed to Republic of South Africa under CORSIA 10th Edition (2025-12-19): SA Airlink, Safair Operations (Pty) Ltd, South African Airways SOC Ltd. | — |
| Verification body accredited in-State | 1.3.7, 4.4.2.2 (ISO/IEC 17011:2017) | gap | No ICAO-accredited national CORSIA verification body as of CCR Part I, 13th Edition (2025-12-19); operators must use a verification body accredited elsewhere. | See what the credit-stage record looks like → |
| State annual Emissions Report submitted to ICAO | 2.3.2.2 | met | Republic of South Africa is marked "Reported" in both the 2019 (CCR Part II, 2nd Edition) and 2024 (CCR Part III, 4th Edition) reporting-status appendices. | — |
| 2019 baseline on record | 1.4.3 | met | 2019 baseline on record for Republic of South Africa: pilot-phase 9,416,317 t, 85%-of-2019 baseline 8,003,872 t (CCR Part II, 2nd Edition, 2022-10-28). | — |
| CORSIA Eligible Fuel (CEF) claims recorded in the CCR | 2.3.3.3 | gap | Zero CEF claims recorded for Republic of South Africa (CCR Part IV, 1st Edition, 2024 reporting year — one claim worldwide, a Singapore producer). | Prepare transfer evidence for independent review → |
| Emissions Monitoring Plan (EMP) receipt & approval process | 2.2.2.1, 2.2.2.3, 2.2.2.6 | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
| Order-of-magnitude checks on Emissions & Cancellation Reports | 2.4.1.6, 4.4.1.6 (guidance: ETM Table 3-11, ~3h/operator) | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
| Offsetting-requirement calculation & operator notice | 3.2.1-3.2.6, 3.4.1-3.4.5 | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
| Data-gap estimation backstop (CERT) | 2.5.2.1 | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
| Error correction to reported emissions | 2.6.1-2.6.2 | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
| Emissions-unit cancellation oversight | 4.3.2, 4.4.1.6 | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
| Administrative-partnership option (delegation alternative) | 1.3.2-1.3.3 | no public record | No public ICAO record confirms or denies this process exists in-State — verify with the designated authority. | — |
Value-chain gaps & solutions
Grounding: sap
South Africa is the continent's most advanced SAF value chain and the ONLY African country with certified SAF production today. Sasol produces SAF from used cooking oil / vegetable oil at its Natref plant (~108,500 bpd) and in 2026 secured ISCC PLUS certification (TÜV SÜD, Germany), opening exports to the EU under ReFuelEU. Sasol targets 1–2 ML in 2026, ~16 ML in 2027, and up to 100–200 ML/yr by 2030 (including its Secunda complex — the world's largest commercial CTL/GTL, with existing Fischer-Tropsch infrastructure). Feedstock is strong and well-quantified (UCO ~150 kt/yr; sugarcane bagasse ~5.5 Mt; cereal residues ~4 Mt; plus a Solaris biolipid partnership with Anglo American and De Beers). SA also has Africa's most mature carbon-pricing context (a national carbon tax). The catch: current SAF output is oriented to EU export, so the DOMESTIC uplift/into-plane chain and a national SAF MRV/registry for in-country CORSIA claims are less developed than production itself. ZAF is the proof-of-possibility — the chain is effectively closed for export, not yet for domestic claiming.
| Stage | Status | Missing roles |
|---|---|---|
| feedstock | readypresent | Named UCO aggregation network with quantified volumes, Solaris oilseed grower/offtake partnership (no SA grower attached), Sugar-industry body confirmed as SAF feedstock supplier, Dedicated feedstock co-op/processor for FT-SPK biomass |
| conversion | readypresent | Standalone FT-SPK biomass-to-jet plant, Domestic commercial PtL/e-SAF plant (demo is sited in Germany), Second/independent SAF producer beyond Sasol |
| blending | partialpartial | Named petroleum/fuel-standards regulator for SAF blending, Independent fuel marketer / into-plane supplier (separate from Sasol), National SAF blending mandate (absent) |
| uplift flight | partialpartial | Binding airline SAF offtake volumes (SAA/Airlink unverified), Named into-plane handling operator at OR Tambo / Cape Town, Airport-level SAF supply or blending point |
| credit | partialpartial | South Africa not yet a CORSIA participant (joins Phase 2, 2027), Explicit aviation treatment under the carbon tax, National SAF registry / book-and-claim accreditation body |
Sustainability criteria referencewe produce it
The CORSIA sustainability themes relevant to a question.
Generate a chain-of-custody templatewe produce it
A CoC document scaffold aligned to ASTM D7566 + CORSIA traceability requirements.
Approval & Permitting Navigatorwe produce it
A SAF project approval-pathway map (site control → airport acceptance) + RACI + indicative docs.
Fuel-Spec & Airport-Acceptance workflowwe draft it
The D7566→D1655 transition + airport-acceptance checklist (docs, EI/JIG QC, storage, uplift).
Price-Gap Calculatorwe draft it
The SAF cost-gap framework (four levers) + raw-gap arithmetic on user-supplied sourced figures.
Carbon-intensity lookupwe produce it
The ICAO default lifecycle CI for a feedstock/pathway — or an honest 'no default, escalate'.
CORSIA eligibility checkwe produce it
Pass / marginal / fail verdict against the ICAO ≥10% reduction criterion.
Draft a sustainability declarationwe draft it
A pre-filled, CADO-ready declaration draft handed to the existing form for finalization.
Sources
- CORSIA Central Registry (CCR): Information and Data for Transparency — Part I: List of Verification Bodies Accredited in States, 13th Edition (2025-12-19)
- CORSIA Central Registry (CCR): Information and Data for Transparency — Part II: Total CO2 Emissions for 2019 Aggregated for all Aeroplane Operators on each State Pair, 2nd Edition (2022-10-28)
- CORSIA Central Registry (CCR): Information and Data for Transparency — Part III: Total Annual CO2 Emissions and Information for Aeroplane Operators, 4th Edition (2025-10-31)
- CORSIA Central Registry (CCR): Information and Data for Transparency — Part IV: Information on CORSIA Eligible Fuels (CEF) Claimed, 1st Edition (2025-10-01)
- CORSIA Aeroplane Operator to State Attributions, 10th Edition (2025-12-19)
- CORSIA States for Chapter 3 State Pairs, 5th Edition/Rev.1 (2024-09-27)
- https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/company-strategy/2026-04-24-certification-paves-way-for-sasol-to-export-green-jet-fuel-to-eu/
- https://www.ecofinagency.com/news-industry/2404-54996-south-africa-s-sasol-secures-certification-to-export-sustainable-aviation-fuel-to-europe
- https://www.sasol.com/sustainable-aviation-fuel
- https://www.flightlineweekly.com/post/sasol-targets-200-million-litres-of-sustainable-aviation-fuel-output-by-2030
- https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2024-releases/2024-07-03-01/
- https://www.sasol.com/media-centre/media-releases/sasol-achieves-first-in-africa-crude-oil-refinery-product-sustainability-certification
- https://www.topsoe.com/news/a-brighter-horizon-for-sustainable-aviation-fuel-sasol-and-topsoe-to-form-a-future-business-to-accelerate-global-saf-production
- https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/clean-fuels/04122024/topsoe-and-sasol-selected-to-deliver-e-fuels-technology-for-e-saf-demonstration-plant/
- https://rsb.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/RSB-SAF-Report_WEB.pdf
- https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/saf_technical_report.pdf
- https://www.climatecommission.org.za/south-africas-jet-ip
- https://www.carbonknowledgehub.com/factsheets/south-africa-carbon-tax
Republic of South Africa · advisory readiness summary built from public, dated ICAO sources. Not a regulatory determination or certification. Advisory readiness summary built from public, dated sources. Not a regulatory determination or certification.