US: Any airline bailout must have climate-change conditions attached, says group of Democrats

Airlines have their collective hand out for billions of dollars in emergency aid as the coronavirus crisis obliterates the travel sector, and now select Democrats see that as an opportunity to press the major carriers, as well as cruise ships, to be better champions of the environment in exchange for help. Wednesday, 8 Senate Democrats signed a letter saying that any aid to airlines (and they included cruise ships) should come with conditions requiring them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over time. “If we give the airline and cruise industries assistance without requiring them to be better environmental stewards, we would miss a major opportunity to combat climate change and ocean dumping,” said co-signer senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat of Rhode Island. <br/>