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Argentina’s Misiones province is in advanced talks to sell carbon credits to LATAM Airlines Group. The credits qualify under the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The price sits at roughly $24 per tonne of CO2 equivalent. The initial transaction would top $60 million in value if it closes. The province’s Minister of Climate Change, Gervasio Malagrida, shared these details with a local television broadcaster on Wednesday May 13.
Malagrida said formal validation and certification under the Verra standard will arrive next month. Credit issuance follows once the process concludes. The initiative sits within Misiones’ Jurisdictional Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (JREDD+) program. The program monetizes carbon capture tied to Atlantic Forest preservation. Misiones expects to issue 10.5 million verified carbon tonnes once complete. This positions the province as a benchmark issuer of Argentina carbon credits.
LATAM would purchase roughly 2.8 million tonnes of that total. The airline needs the credits to comply with CORSIA obligations. CORSIA is the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) mechanism for offsetting emissions growth from international aviation, according to Malagrida.
Verra lists the project (VCS 4648) under Scenario 2 of its Jurisdictional Nested REDD (JNR) program. The issuance will likely be the first under this methodology. The project has not yet issued any credits. Before qualifying for CORSIA, the credits need either a letter of authorization and eligible insurance or a full corresponding adjustment.
“LATAM became interested because it currently buys credits in Africa, and until now there was no volume in Latin America comparable to what Misiones is in a position to certify,” Malagrida said.
Although CORSIA is a compliance system, so it does not matter in what jurisdiction airlines buy credits, some airlines have previously expressed a preference for sourcing closer to their operations.
The price discussed sits significantly above current generic CORSIA Phase 1 spot levels. Fastmarkets assessed its CORSIA Phase 1 spot price at $12.45 per tCO2e in the week to Wednesday May 12.
The purchase would also rank as one of the largest by an airline to date by some margin. Market participants have previously voiced concern about tepid airline demand. Most buying has backloaded toward the end of the first compliance phase. A closing here could signal the firm demand the market has so far lacked.
The minister said contact between the parties began during the 2025 Carbon Forum in Chile. Talks progressed further during the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém. Provincial representatives met the airline’s global sustainability executives there.
Misiones could become the first subnational jurisdiction in the world to issue this type of instrument based on avoided deforestation and biodiversity conservation, Malagrida said.
“We were able to demonstrate that Misiones maintains a strong state policy, with more than 100 laws protecting the rainforest and a sustainable development plan built over more than 60 years,” he said, adding “it is a credit with enormous symbolic and strategic value. It is based on a natural solution within LATAM’s own operational environment and in a biome of which very little remains.”
Negotiations have progressed, but the transaction still depends on formal authorization from Argentina’s federal government. Misiones needs Buenos Aires to operate within the CORSIA framework.
According to Malagrida, approval involves Argentina’s foreign ministry and the national regulatory framework linked to international climate commitments.
“Misiones is now waiting for Argentina to sign the minimum document authorizing sales under CORSIA,” he said.
A presentation on the matter is scheduled for next week, on May 19, at the Argentine Senate, with the aim of discussing the creation of a specific legal framework for this type of environmental instrument.
Under provincial legislation, proceeds from the sale of the credits cannot be used for general government expenditures.
The allocation structure includes three main areas: payments to private landowners preserving native forests, strengthening provincial environmental policies, and institutional support for the state to maintain conservation efforts.
“This money cannot be used for anything unrelated to sustainable development,” Malagrida said.
The minister also noted that Misiones’ progress has already attracted interest from other Latin American jurisdictions, including Ecuador’s Pastaza province, which is among the governments interested in replicating the Misiones model through technical knowledge transfer.
“Misiones is the only province that has achieved this. All this know-how is now extremely valuable,” he said.
LATAM is sourcing now and willing to pay a premium for local credits.
Use CORSIA Outlook’s Airline Deep-dive to see who’s covered, who’s exposed, and which projects they’re contracting from through Phase 2