The Obama administration is preparing a rule that would place new emissions limits on US airliners.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), jet fuel exhaust poses a public health risk and is accelerating the warming of the planet. The agency said it would therefore use its authority under the Clean Air Act to propose new regulations on pollutants generated by the industry.
“Addressing pollution from aircraft is an important element of US efforts to address climate change,” said Janet McCabe on Monday. McCabe is the EPA’s acting assistant administrator for air and radiation.
Studies show that aviation emissions account for between two and five percent of global greenhouse gas releases, which act as a shroud around the planet, trapping heat inside.
Environmentalists have long called for curbs on airline exhaust, which are heavily opposed by the flight industry and airplane manufacturers. Planes are the third biggest polluter within the US transportation system, behind cars and trucks, which are already subject to EPA emissions standards.
“The EPA’s nine-year delay on regulating aircraft emissions failed the American people,” said Marcie Keever, the legal director of Friends of Earth, an environmental advocacy group. “Now it’s time for the Obama administration to issue a strong rule, to hold the aviation industry accountable,” she added.
Earlier this year, a United Nations panel recommended new regulations on international flights; one that would require airliners to shed four percent of their fuel consumption while at cruising altitude. If approved by the 36-nation governing council on the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization, the regulation could reduce carbon emission by 650 million tons between 2020 and 2040.
The EPA noted that its proposed rule-making on airliner emissions in the US would exempt small planes and military aircraft.
The US military is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels on the planet. Its contributions to global warming are likely massive, but have never been fully measured since the Pentagon is exempt from reporting on emissions.
