On Wednesday the US Environment Protection Agency announced its findings that cause emissions from airplanes do exacerbate climate change and threaten public health. As a result of this it is now legally required to develop a set of rules to regulate the industry.
In Brief
- The EPA will wait for current international negotiations on limiting aviation emissions in the to conclude before publishing its final rule. Those discussions, which are taking place within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) began in 2009 and are expected to be completed in February 2016.
- Each 5.5 pounds of weight reduced on an airplane means a one-ton reduction in carbon emissions per year, according to calculations by the International Air Transport Association.
- Aviation accounts for about 2 percent of global emissions, but is among the fastest-growing sources of global greenhouse gas emissions as air travel becomes more affordable and more people travel around the world. By 2020, international aviation emissions could be 70 percent higher than in 2005, even if fuel efficiency improves by 2 percent a year, according to estimates cited by the European Commission.
- Commercial airlines have voluntarily committed to limit the growth of their carbon emissions to 2 percent a year through 2020, then cap emission growth after that.
In Depth
- Read the original article in the New York Times
- Follow Airport Watch on Twitter
- Download this factsheet on aviation emissions
