Health

U.S. environmental groups plan to sue Trump administration on airplane emissions


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Environmental groups said on Thursday they plan to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to regulate aircraft emissions after a 2016 agency determination that those emissions pose a danger to public health.

FILE PHOTO: A plane prepares to land over a cyclist during unseasonably warm weather at Reagan National Airport in Washington, U.S., February 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth, represented by Earthjustice, filed a notice of intent to sue the EPA.

Airplanes are the third-largest source of U.S. transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions and the largest not subject to greenhouse gas emissions standards.

EPA last year said it would release a proposed rule by September 2019, but failed to do so. EPA did not immediately comment. EPA said in agency documents it now intends to issue proposed rules by February.

“The Trump administration’s refusal to curb plane pollution is fueling the climate crisis,” said Clare Lakewood, climate legal director at the Center. “Airplane pollution is increasing at really worrying rates, but the EPA just keeps refusing to address this skyrocketing threat to our rapidly warming planet.”

In 2010, environmental groups sued the EPA to force it to set greenhouse gas emissions standards for airplanes. A judge ruled EPA is required to address aviation emissions.

In February 2016, after six years of talks, the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreed on a global standard aimed at makers of small and large planes, including Airbus SE and Boeing Co, that will apply to all new aircraft models launched after 2020.

The EPA said in agency documents it “anticipates adopting domestic GHG (greenhouse gas) standards that would be at least as stringent as ICAO’s standards.”

Boeing has said it supports the ICAO rules. Both Airbus and Boeing are working to build significantly more fuel efficient airplanes.

To achieve carbon-neutral growth after 2020, despite rising traffic, commercial airlines aim to use more fuel-efficient aircraft, find more direct flight paths by improved air traffic control and substitute conventional fuel with more sustainable biofuels.

Commercial flying currently accounts for about 2% of global carbon emissions and about 12% of transport emissions.

By 2020, emissions from global international aviation are projected to be about 70% higher than in 2005 due to rising travel demand. Worldwide, passenger numbers are forecast to double from 2017 levels to 8.2 billion by 2037.

Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Chris Reese and Andrea Ricci



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