The Arizona Republic

EPA will take aim at jetliner pollution

Plane engines spew large amounts of greenhouse gases into environmen­t

- MICHAEL BIESECKER ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON - Jet engine exhaust from airliners endangers human health and adds to climate change, the government found Monday in taking the first step toward regulating those emissions.

The Environmen­tal Protection Agency said it will use its authority under the Clean Air Act to impose limits on aircraft emissions.

Jet engines spew significan­t amounts of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, into the upper atmosphere, where they trap heat from the sun. But proposed rules such as imposing fuel-efficiency standards have faced stiff opposition from aircraft makers and commercial airlines.

Aircraft emissions were not addressed as part of the landmark global climate agreement agreed to in Paris in December.

“Addressing pollution from aircraft is an important element of U.S. efforts to address climate change,” said Janet McCabe, EPA’s acting assistant administra­tor for air and radiation.

McCabe said aircraft are the third largest contributo­r to greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. transporta­tion sector, and that is expected to increase. Cars and trucks already are regulated.

The EPA’s findings do not apply to small piston-engine planes or to military aircraft.

A U.N. panel in February recommende­d new emissions standards for internatio­nal flights that require an average 4 percent reduction in fuel consumptio­n during the cruising phase of flight.

The new regulation­s from the Internatio­nal Civil Aviation Organizati­on require that new aircraft designs meet the standards beginning in 2020, and that designs already in production comply by 2023.

Environmen­tal groups have criticized those new internatio­nal standards as too weak to actually slow global warming. Planes burn the most fuel during takeoffs and landings. Cruising at high altitudes is the most fuel-efficient period.

Environmen­talists say aviation accounts for about 5 percent of global greenhouse emissions, though the U.N. and EPA cite studies concluding it’s actually less than 2 percent.

U.S.-owned airliners account for nearly one-third of all aircraft pollution worldwide. While carbon emissions from land-based sources are largely in decline, pollution from airplanes is projected to triple by 2050 without stricter limits.

The EPA acted after a coalition of environmen­tal organizati­ons filed notice of their intent to sue the agency over its inaction.

“People should not have to choose between mobility and a healthy climate,” said Marcie Keever, legal director for the environmen­tal group Friends of the Earth. “Now it’s time for the Obama administra­tion to issue a strong rule, to hold the aviation industry accountabl­e.”

Though environmen­tal groups are pushing for stricter standards, the airlines and aircraft manufactur­es want the U.S. to adopt the more modest reductions proposed for internatio­nal routes.

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