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VerifAvia is the First Aviation Verifier to be Approved by the Competent Authority of France

Dépèche transmise le 31 août 2010 par PRNewswire

PARIS and LONDON, August 31, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Paris-based VerifAvia SARL, an EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) verification body dedicated to the aviation sector, announces today that it is the first verification body to be approved by the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC), the Competent Authority of France.

VerifAvia was already the first verification body to apply to the Comite Francais d'Accreditation (COFRAC) for the ISO 14065 accreditation for Aviation EU ETS. "Now that the French legislation on EU ETS verification was published in the Official Journal of the French Republic on 25 August, VerifAvia is considered as temporarily able to conduct verification audits while the accreditation process is underway," says Julien Dufour, VerifAvia's CEO. According to the DGAC, VerifAvia is the first and so far only verification body to be de facto approved and will soon be listed on the DGAC's web site.

Following the proposal of the Walloon Agency for Air and Climate, VerifAvia was approved on 13 July 2010 as a verifier of greenhouse gas emissions by the Directorate General for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment of Wallonia (Belgium). In addition, on 23 August 2010, VerifAvia was officially approved by the Environment Administration of Luxembourg as a verification body of greenhouse gas emissions for the aviation sector under the EU ETS directive.

Meanwhile, London-based VerifAvia (UK) Ltd announces that it has successfully passed its Pre-assessment Head Office visit by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). The company is now getting ready for the Initial Assessment and Witnessed Assessment that are scheduled for September. The ISO 14065 accreditation should be granted soon after.

VerifAvia is also in the process of seeking approval in Germany and Austria. Approval by most other EU Competent Authorities will follow. "Most EU countries have said they would accept foreign verification bodies that are accredited by a national accreditation body under the Regulation (EC) 765/2008 of 9 July 2008 and according to the EA-6/03 guidance for the recognition of verifiers, which will be the case of both VerifAvia SARL and VerifAvia (UK) Ltd," adds Dufour.

With the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU ETS, airlines and business aviation operators must have their annual aircraft CO2 emissions and tonne-kilometre data verified by an accredited verification body. The verified reports must then be submitted to the Competent Authority by March 31 of each year beginning in 2011. The aim of verification is to check that the data in the annual reports is correct and to ensure that the existing procedures conform to the approved monitoring plans and the Aviation EU ETS regulations.

About VerifAvia -

Recently created to respond to the needs of the aviation sector for expert verifiers, VerifAvia is a verification body of greenhouse gas emissions and payload tonne-kilometre data for the aviation sector under the EU ETS Directive. VerifAvia has offices in Paris and London, is in process of accreditation by both COFRAC and UKAS and expects to be approved by most EU Competent Authorities. The company uses a team of aviation experts with extensive EU ETS experience who have received professional verification training in the UK. VerifAvia's auditors speak English, French, German and Spanish. VerifAvia is an associate member of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and an affiliate member of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA).

CONTACT: Media Contact: Julien Dufour, CEO, ,Mob. +33-665-697-489