The first-ever global emissions standard for commercial aircraft — years in the making — moved closer to takeoff this week as the United Nation’s aviation body proposed carbon pollution limits for airplanes.
The International Civil Aviation Organization did not release details of its proposal.
The first-ever global emissions standard for commercial aircraft — years in the making — moved closer to takeoff this week as the United Nation’s aviation body proposed carbon pollution limits for airplanes.
The International Civil Aviation Organization did not release details of its proposal. But that hasn’t stopped the aviation industry from praising the carbon rule or environmental groups from criticizing it as ineffective.
The UN agency did say the emissions standard would only apply to new aircraft models as of 2020. It would also apply to new deliveries of existing models from 2023 and have a cut-off date of 2028 for production of aircraft that do not comply with the new emissions standard. The ICAO’s governing body is expected to approve the proposal later this year.
In the absence of specifics, however, it remains a question as to who effective the standard will be in reducing airplanes’ carbon emissions remains open to debate.
Projected Emissions Reductions
The White House says the standards are expected to reduce carbon emissions more than 650 million tons between 2020 and 2040.
The nonprofit International Council on Clean Transportation, on the other hand, said while the standard represents a “historic milestone” by establishing the first binding carbon reduction targets for the aviation industry, “in terms of effective, real-world reductions in carbon emissions from aircraft it falls short.”
ICCT executive director Drew Kodjak, in a statement, said “the proposal will only require CO2 reductions from new aircraft of 4 percent over 12 years, when market forces alone are predicted to achieve more than a 10 percent efficiency gain in the same time frame. This is an anti-backsliding standard.”
Vera Pardee, a Center for Biological Diversity attorney who has sued the federal government over aviation emissions, said the standard would not actually reduce aviation’s overall emissions because of the industry’s projected growth. “These disturbingly weak recommendations put the Obama administration under enormous pressure to fight airplane pollution’s threat to our climate,” Pardee said. “The EPA has a legal and moral obligation to address the aviation industry’s skyrocketing carbon pollution.”
The EPA last year said greenhouse gas emissions generated by commercial aircraft contribute to global warming and endanger human health, a declaration that lays the groundwork for regulating domestic aircraft emissions.
Boeing, Airbus on Board
Boeing and Airbus, which both said they welcomed the emissions standard, say their latest models already exceed the emissions requirements. “The 787 Dreamliner family reduces fuel use and CO2 emissions by 20 percent to 25 percent compared to a