US lawmakers plan to introduce a bill on Thursday that would create a tax credit for lower-carbon sustainable aviation fuel, which they hope will slash emissions of greenhouse gases from the aviation industry. The legislation would impose a tax incentive of up to $2.00 for every gallon produced of sustainable aviation fuel, which can be made from feedstocks such as grease, animal fats and plant oils. That price would make it one of the most expensive subsidies for clean fuel. The United States uses about 45m gallons per day of jet fuel, or about 6% of total petroleum use, according to the US Energy Information Administration. US Representatives Brad Schneider, a Democrat from Illinois; Dan Kildee, a Democrat from Michigan; and Julia Brownley, a Democrat from California, are expected to introduce the bill. Lawmakers have been pushing for measures to fight climate change as President Joe Biden's administration has called for the US economy to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, meaning removing as much carbon from the atmosphere as is emitted. It was not immediately clear whether the sustainable aviation fuel bill would have Republican support. <br/>
general
An Ontario court has ruled that the Iranian military's downing of a passenger jet early last year was an intentional act of terrorism, paving the way for relatives of those killed to seek compensation from the country. In the decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward Belobaba found on a balance of probabilities that the missiles that shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8, 2020, were fired deliberately at a time when there was no armed conflict in the area. As a result, he found it constituted an act of terrorism that would invalidate Iran's immunity against civil litigation. While the State Immunity Act protects foreign states from legal claims, the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act provides an exception in cases where the losses are caused by terrorist activity, the ruling said. More than 100 of the 176 people killed in the plane crash had ties to Canada, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.<br/>
EU negotiators agreed on the introduction of mutually recognizable certificates that will allow quarantine-free travel within the bloc, offering the region’s battered tourist industry a chance to salvage the summer season. The EU’s Covid-19 certificates, which will be issued free of charge in digital or paper format, will offer proof their holders have been inoculated against the coronavirus, have recovered from the illness or have a recent negative test. All EU member states will accept visitors who hold the passes, without asking them to quarantine. The move to ease travel within the EU follows a deal between member states this week to also allow tourists from outside the bloc to visit if they’ve been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to their arrival. There are also plans for a “white list” of non-EU countries with low infection rates, from which travelers will be exempt from the vaccination requirement. However, talks among the bloc’s member states about which nations should be included have stalled, and its publication may be postponed for two weeks, according to three diplomats familiar with the matter. As a result, only fully vaccinated Americans and British residents would be welcomed for the time being.<br/>
Spain’s airlines decried on Thursday PM Pedro Sanchez’s proposal to impose new taxes on air travel in a bid to limit the sector’s damage on the environment and align its taxes with those on other forms of transport. The new measures could include a tax on frequent travellers and short-haul flights, as well as the possible prohibition of plane journeys for routes which could be covered in less than 2-1/2 hours by train. “We outright reject a tax on tickets and the elimination of flights shorter than 2.5 hours,” a spokeswoman for the Spanish branch of global airline association ALA said. “The first measure will devastate tourism, this country’s principal motor of growth ... and the second will displace connecting flights to third countries, while only marginally reducing carbon emissions.” Airline representatives gathered at the FITUR international tourism trade fair in Madrid expressed similar discontent at what they deemed the “demonisation” of their industry and the travel sector, hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Covertly conditioning E14b in European recovery funds to the imposition of new taxes on aviation doesn’t just penalise the sector, but also the consumer,” said Jose Bauza Diaz, coordinator of the European Parliament’s transport and tourism commission.<br/>
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport has presented a $2b expansion plan to the City Council’s Transportation Committee. The proposal, submitted by the airport’s top officials, is part of the airport’s new 20-year master plan that includes upgrades to the existing terminals as well as the campus. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport director Robert Kennedy was quoted by WKYC-TV as saying: “This plan is bold. It’s big.” The proposal includes the construction of a new concourse and the reconstruction of concourse B, C, and D, as well as the remodelling of concourse A. In addition to these upgrades, the plan has also outlined the need for a new ticketing and security area.<br/>
The climate impact of expansion plans at regional airports in England has been dramatically underestimated and would threaten the UK’s legally binding commitments, according to a report published ahead of a key summit later this year. The study from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) calculated that proposals to expand four airports in England will lead to an increase in emissions up to eight times higher than previously claimed. The report also found that plans to expand Bristol, Leeds Bradford, Southampton and Stansted airports had overestimated their economic benefit – ignoring up to GBP13.4b worth of climate damage the plans could cause. Alex Chapman, the author of the report, said the findings raised concerns about the level of scrutiny the proposals had received. “The secretary of state should step in and conduct an independent review of all four of these proposals and their compatibility with the UK’s climate targets,” he added.<br/>