WASHINGTON – Aug. 7, 2025 | Verra has engaged global insurance intermediary Howden to assess whether insurance products meet Verra’s criteria for credits intended for use under the Carbon Offset Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), an initiative of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Howden will lead the evaluation of insurance offerings against Verra’s criteria to determine their suitability for mitigating the risk of double claiming, where both the aircraft operator and the host country claim the same mitigation outcomes represented by the Verified Carbon Units (VCUs).

This engagement follows Verra’s recent release of its CORSIA insurance criteria and is a key further step in operationalizing Verra’s CORSIA eligibility pathway for VCUs issued for mitigation occurring from 2021 onward. Howden has also recently been contracted to assess CORSIA insurance policies for Gold Standard, which has developed similar insurance criteria. The alignment between the insurance approaches of the world’s two largest independent greenhouse gas crediting programs presents a unique opportunity to drive greater standardization across the market.

For VCUs with vintages of 2021 onward to receive a CORSIA-eligible label in the Verra Registry, they must be from CORSIA-approved project types and have received an Article 6 label, which indicates a host country has authorized these credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and makes the credits eligible for use under CORSIA. This authorization means the host country will apply a corresponding adjustment when accounting for its emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement, so that these credits cannot be claimed toward countries’ climate targets under the Paris Agreement and airline operators’ obligations under CORSIA.

Thus, to receive a CORSIA-eligible label, the VCUs must demonstrate one of the following:

  1. A completed corresponding adjustment for the mitigation outcomes represented by the respective VCUs. Until more host countries have completed their reporting to the UNFCCC, this evidence may not always be readily available.
  2. A CORSIA Accounting Representation signed by an entity that commits to compensate for any VCUs affected by double claiming, along with a certificate of insurance for a Verra-approved insurance product that backs up their ability to undertake the compensation.

Verra’s CORSIA Label Guidance (PDF) provides complete information on how labels are applied.

Insurance products assessed and approved by Howden that comply with Verra criteria will be listed on Verra’s website providing market participants with clear, actionable options for bringing their credits to market.

“In this time of climate urgency, we are committed to ensuring that carbon markets deliver real, verifiable impact while providing the highest levels of transparency and integrity. By engaging Howden, we are taking an important step toward supporting this market through the operationalization of CORSIA labels, providing additional assurance to both project developers and buyers. CORSIA is a critical market that helps mitigate the immense climate impact from international aviation.”

Mandy Rambharos, Verra CEO

Charlie Pool, head of carbon markets, climate risk and resilience at Howden, added: “Ensuring confidence at scale is the next frontier for carbon markets. By applying robust insurance standards to address the risk of double claiming, we’re not only building trust and accountability—we’re also unlocking the flow of capital needed to accelerate climate action. Our collaboration with Verra demonstrates how insurance can be a foundational tool for scaling carbon finance.”

This insurance pathway reflects Verra’s ongoing commitment to helping voluntary and compliance carbon markets grow with integrity. The CORSIA Accounting Representation template and a final version of the insurance criteria will be published alongside the announcement of eligible insurance policies, expected later this year. Verra encourages insurance providers to submit products for review through a dedicated submission process through Howden’s website (external).

Contact:

Media Inquiries: Erdem Koch | media@verra.org

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About Verra

Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods, and protect natural resources by working with the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards programs and tools that credibly, transparently, and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits.

About Howden

Howden (external) is a global insurance intermediary group with employee ownership at its heart. Founded in 1994, it provides insurance broking, reinsurance broking and underwriting services and solutions to clients ranging from individuals to the largest multinational companies.

The group operates in 55 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the USA, Australia and New Zealand, employing 22,000 people and handling $45bn of premium on behalf of clients.

This initiative is led by Howden’s Carbon Team and builds on Howden’s industry-first carbon credit invalidation insurance product and more recently Howden’s warranty and indemnity carbon product. Both products are designed to support the scaling of high-quality carbon credit purchases by providing confidence and clarity to market participants.