EPA Says Aircraft C02 Rule Debate Centers On Applicability, Stringency

摘要

Top EPA officials say that debate over a pending international pact on first-time aircraft carbon dioxide (CO2) air standards - which the agency could then adopt in domestic rules - centers on whether the limits should apply only to new aircraft, the timing of when such standards should take effect, and the level at which to set the limit. "What's happening this year is all the analytical work and economic work to determine two very important parts of the standard: the level of stringency, and the applicability," Chris Grundler, director of EPA's Office of Transportation & Air Quality (OTAQ), told Inside EPA at an agency mobile source advisory panel meeting May 5. The agency is involved in multilateral negotiations through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on crafting standards for reducing CO2 from aircraft that all countries party to ICAO can agree on. Last year the group agreed on metrics and certification procedures for developing the standards, Grundler said. That means this year countries will debate the stringency of any standards and which types of aircraft they should regulate, with a final ICAO rule slated for February 2016. ICAO's eventual standards would not be self-implementing, meaning each country would have to adopt them through legislation or regulation.