Advanced BioFuels USA

by Kelsey Tamborrino (Politico’s Morning Energy)  EPA proposed setting fuel efficiency standards for aircraft engines to bring the U.S. in line with rules set by the International Civil Aviation Organization to reduce carbon dioxide, although green groups have long decried the ICAO standards as inadequate to driving down emissions from the aircraft sector.

Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Wednesday unveiled a proposed rule that would allow EPA to certify engines made by Boeing or other U.S. aircraft makers as compliant with ICAO standards set in 2016, Pro’s Eric Wolff reports.

But the proposed standard will not lead to greenhouse gas reductions, an agency official said, though the agency expects market forces to drive increased fuel efficiency. The proposed rule would impose no costs, other than reporting costs, because the ICAO standards are “technology-following,” EPA said in its technical analysis, “and all manufacturers have products that either already meet the standards or have new products under development that will meet the standards by their effective dates.”

Greens quickly decried the proposal for one of the fastest-growing sources of climate pollution as ineffective. “In the face of an increasingly dire climate crisis, these proposed standards cynically propose weaker outcomes than what business-as-usual already achieved in 2016,” the Sierra Club’s chief climate counsel, Joanne Spalding, said in a statement.  READ MORE

EPA proposes first greenhouse gas emissions standards for aircraft, critics say its already obsolete (Biofuels Digest)

EPA’s Proposed Aircraft CO2 Standard Is Already Obsolete (Forbes)

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Control of Air Pollution from Airplanes and Airplane Engines: GHG Emission Standards and Test Procedures (Environmental Protection Agency)

US EPA proposes regulation of aircraft CO2 emissions to align with ICAO’s international standard (GreenAir Online)

Control of Air Pollution From Airplanes and Airplane Engines: GHG Emission Standards and Test Procedures (Environmental Protection Agency/Federal Register)

US environmental groups say proposal by EPA to adopt rules equivalent to ICAO Aircraft CO2 standards is illegal (GreenAir Online)

Excerpt from GreenAir Online: However, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said the proposal as drafted contravened EPA’s responsibilities under the Clean Air Act and would be objecting during the upcoming comments period.

“Airlines need to put climate change at the centre of their recovery from Covid-19, but EPA’s proposed carbon dioxide emissions standard for aircraft is wholly insufficient to put the aviation industry on a trajectory of declining emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said Annie Petsonk, International Counsel at EDF.

“Congress should move swiftly to set aviation on a science-driven path toward net zero climate impacts, with strong emission reduction targets that address all aircraft pollution. That will do far more to aid the sector economically and protect the climate than EPA’s current proposal.” 

According to the US-based International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), EPA’s proposed standard is too weak to accelerate investments in more fuel-efficient aircraft and engines. Its analysis found that aircraft deliveries in 2019 were already on average 6% more fuel-efficient than required by the standard in 2028 and the average new commercial jet delivered in 2016, when the ICAO standard was finalised, already complied with the 2028 requirements. Moreover, it claims, the most advanced new aircraft delivered in recent years are ahead of the standard by 10-20% on average. ICCT is publishing the analysis in a new report in August.

It recommends EPA should apply its CO2 standard to in-service aircraft rather than just new aircraft as this would create new markets for US manufacturers by promoting the retirement of older, less efficient designs. It also suggests EPA should begin work on a second-phase standard with tougher targets that could inform international standard setting in ICAO.

“The United States will need a more ambitious standard if it is to meet its goal of carbon-neutral growth for its carriers starting this year,” said Sola Zheng, lead author of the study.  READ MORE