US: Environmental groups sue over pollution from airliners
A coalition of environmental groups sued federal regulators Tuesday over long-sought pollution standards for airliners and cargo planes. The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Washington. The groups allege the Environmental Protection Agency has unreasonably delayed for years using the Clean Air Act to enforce limits on heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. A UN panel in February proposed an average 4 percent reduction in fuel consumption during the cruise phase of flight starting in 2028 when compared with planes delivered in 2015. However, planes burn the most fuel during takeoffs and landings, while cruising at high altitudes is already the most fuel-efficient phase of flight. Environmentalists have criticised that proposed reduction as too modest to significantly curb climate change, and are pushing the EPA to enact more stringent standards for domestic aircraft. Aviation accounts for about 5% of global carbon emissions, with US-owned airliners emitting about 30% 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. “Airplanes’ skyrocketing climate pollution requires urgent action, not more foot dragging from the Obama administration,” said Vera Pardee, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The EPA has dawdled for almost a decade, even as airplane emissions are on track to spiral out of control. We can’t afford more denial and delay in tackling this high-flying threat to our climate.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2016-04-13/general/us-environmental-groups-sue-over-pollution-from-airliners
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US: Environmental groups sue over pollution from airliners
A coalition of environmental groups sued federal regulators Tuesday over long-sought pollution standards for airliners and cargo planes. The Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Washington. The groups allege the Environmental Protection Agency has unreasonably delayed for years using the Clean Air Act to enforce limits on heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft. A UN panel in February proposed an average 4 percent reduction in fuel consumption during the cruise phase of flight starting in 2028 when compared with planes delivered in 2015. However, planes burn the most fuel during takeoffs and landings, while cruising at high altitudes is already the most fuel-efficient phase of flight. Environmentalists have criticised that proposed reduction as too modest to significantly curb climate change, and are pushing the EPA to enact more stringent standards for domestic aircraft. Aviation accounts for about 5% of global carbon emissions, with US-owned airliners emitting about 30% 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. “Airplanes’ skyrocketing climate pollution requires urgent action, not more foot dragging from the Obama administration,” said Vera Pardee, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. “The EPA has dawdled for almost a decade, even as airplane emissions are on track to spiral out of control. We can’t afford more denial and delay in tackling this high-flying threat to our climate.”<br/>
