NATS invests in carbon removals with CUR8

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It signifies a growing shift across aviation towards high-integrity, durable carbon removals as a core component of long-term aviation decarbonisation strategies.

NATS, one of Europe’s leading aviation organisations, handling 25% of European air traffic and 11% of the airspace and which safely handled 2.5 million flights in the year 2025-26, is buying a diverse portfolio of removal credits. It is one of the first investments involved in the Sustainable Aviation initiative and will support NATS’ goal of net zero by 2035 and carbon negative by 2040.

The Sustainable Aviation coalition showcases the value of collective industry action, and its members participating in the AMS include Airbus, British Airways, London Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, London Luton Airport, Manchester Airport Group and NATS.

Aviation is central to UK connectivity and economic growth, with continued focus on addressing and reducing its environmental impacts. This commitment reinforces the role of carbon removals as a key tool for the aviation sector’s climate goals and reflects NATS’ own ambitions to go further and faster. Today’s news sets a template for other hard-to-abate industries to follow as net-zero target deadlines get closer.

CUR8, the leading provider of market intelligence and due diligence for carbon removals, will curate and deliver NATS’ carbon removal portfolio. CUR8 is creating the market infrastructure necessary for carbon removals to become an investible asset class. In addition to sourcing credits for corporate buyers, CUR8 also evaluates carbon removal projects through its in-house risk model, de-risking participation in the carbon removals market while unlocking financing for high-integrity projects. 

Aviation is a global industry and so it was important for NATS’ carbon removal portfolio to balance tech-based carbon removal credits based in the UK and around the world, including, Carboneers; an Indian biochar project with strong social and community co-benefits. 1PointFive, a direct air capture leader set to deliver the world’s first plant capable of reaching megatonne scale. O.C.O Avonmouth, a UK based project where biogenic CO2 is captured from a wide variety of waste streams and mineralised to produce carbon aggregates for buildings.

NATS’ Sustainability Director, Ian Jopson, said: “As part of NATS’ strategy to reach net zero by 2035 – including solar installations across our air traffic control centres, energy conservation measures, fleet electrification and the phase-out of natural gas – we are delighted to add carbon removals as a core pillar of our climate strategy.

“With CUR8’s sophisticated insights and risk assessments supporting our tailored portfolio, we look forward to seeing these high-integrity carbon removal credits delivered.”

Duncan McCourt, Chief Executive of Sustainable Aviation, said: “The UK aviation industry is working hard to address its climate impact. Scaling Greenhouse Gas Removals is essential for hard-to-abate sectors, and the Advanced Market Signal is the aviation industry acting now to help stimulate the growth of the GGR sector.”

Commenting on the deal, CUR8’s CEO and Co-Founder Marta Krupinska, said: “NATS is sending a powerful market signal that durable removals will play a central role in aviation’s pathway to net zero. At CUR8, we are looking forward to ensuring those investments are backed by rigorous scientific due diligence and structured in a way that de-risks participation in this high growth market.”

As a leading European aviation organisation, the commitment represents one of the clearest signals yet that aviation is moving beyond traditional offsets and toward high-integrity removals as part of its long-term climate strategy. It will play an important role in stimulating further investment, accelerating innovation and scaling the technologies needed to meet global climate goals, not only in aviation but across industry.

NATS fully supports UK commitments to achieve a net zero aviation industry by 2050 and is playing its part through airspace modernisation and the ongoing development of tools such as Intelligent Approach which increase runway capacity and reduce airborne holding.

UK Sustainable Aviation is a leading industry body representing the full aviation ecosystem and is designed to facilitate a collective approach to delivering a cleaner, quieter, smarter future for the sector.