US officials from five states, two cities and one regional commission filed a petition today seeking federal regulatory standards for greenhouse gas emissions caused by commercial aircraft.
The states of California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico and Pennsylvania, plus the city leaders of Washington DC and New York City signed the petition to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Southern California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District also signed the petition.
Government agencies are not the only parties requesting regulation. The Oakland, California, law firm Earthjustice filed a separate petition today that requests the EPA require reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft arriving in or departing from the USA.
Filed on behalf of environmental groups Friends of the Earth, Oceana and the Center for Biological Diversity, the petition calls for the use of alternative fuels and more efficient airplane design.
The Air Transport Association opposes emissions regulation.
“We also do not believe that it is necessary to establish a greenhouse gas emissions standard for aircraft engines when the commercial airlines already are driven to be as fuel efficient and environmentally conscious as possible,” a spokeswoman says in a statement.
The EPA was not available for comment.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
