The proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse emission rules for commercial airlines announced on Wednesday are rules planes are already meeting. As a result, they are unlikely to achieve any reductions in CO2 emissions because it doesn’t push the airlines beyond the emission targets.
A new proposal on greenhouse emissions for the aviation industry
Aviation emissions account for around 12% of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector in the US and they have been growing significantly compared to auto emissions. As the US government continues to press forward with its rollback on environmental standards, these proposed standards may not appear to be what they are. But the pseudo-proposal might stave off a possible lawsuit by making the government comply with the requirement of regulating airlines’ greenhouse gas emissions.
Basically what the EPA has done is to adopt the 2016 International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) greenhouse emission standards for new airplanes that make it effective for US aviation in 2028. However, the International Council on Clean Transportation indicates that new airplanes delivered in 2016 when the ICAO standard was announced are already complying with the 2028 standards. Most importantly airplanes delivered last year were 6% more efficient compared to the standards that are necessary until 2028.
New EPA regulations on CO2 Emissions are lax
EPA head, Andrew Wheeler indicated that this is the third time in the last two years that they were taking a major step in regulating greenhouse emission in a legal way that protects jobs and reduces CO2 emission. Wheeler was referring to the 2019 regulation on emissions from power plants and the April standards governing automobile tailpipes emissions. In both cases, the rules replace stringent climate change regulations that were implemented during the Obama administration and they are lax allowing for more global warming emissions.
The contribution of greenhouse gases from the aviation industry has continued to grow in recent years even as manufactures adopt new technologies to enhance fuel efficiency. This is because of the significant growth in global travel demand that is outstripping the progress that manufacturers have achieved on fuel consumption.
