US to require airlines to disclose greenhouse gas emissions

A new rule proposed by the US SEC would require airlines to disclose actual greenhouse-gas emissions in as little as two years. The move would bring an end to the industry’s vague approach to carbon emission reduction targets. Under the guise of improved climate-risk transparency for investors, the financial regulator would require large publicly listed companies to disclose carbon emissions and any material risks climate change poses to their “business, results of operations, or financial condition.” Large companies with public valuations of more than $700m would have to begin disclosing emissions in 2024, while smaller companies would have until 2025 or 2026 to do so. Nearly every US airline is classified as a large company — or “large accelerated filer” in SEC parlance — and would need to begin disclosures in two years. Only two publicly traded carriers, Mesa Airlines and Sun Country Airlines, are classified as smaller companies and would have more time to implement the new rule. Airlines for America (A4A), in a letter to the SEC in June 2021 that was released publicly on March 21, said it would “welcome” new emissions disclosure standards in order to “reduce the proliferation of ‘bespoke’ disclosure requests from investors.” The trade group called for a “deliberate, incremental approach” to implementing such rules. An A4A spokesperson declined to comment further on the proposed rule. The disclosure requirements would be a big change from how airlines have offered up their climate bona fides to date. The US industry has committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 with each airline touting different methods to achieve this goal. These range from buying new, more fuel-efficient jets to sustainable aviation fuel commitments and investing in electric and hydrogen propulsion technology. But, for the most part, each commitment has only come with emissions reduction percentages and not concrete numbers that an airline can be held to. Story has more.<br/>