Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aircraft

• Overview
• List of related regulations

Overview

2021

Statement on Airplane Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards Litigation

2020

EPA Finalizes Greenhouse Gas Standards for Certain Classes of Aircraft.

EPA finalizes greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for airplanes used in commercial aviation and for large business jets. This action aligns U.S. standards with the international carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), keeping domestically manufactured aircraft competitive in the global marketplace.

Aircraft covered by the rule account for ten percent of all U.S. transportation greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and three percent of total U.S. GHG emissions.

2016

EPA Responds to Petition to Reconsider Finding that Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Certain Classes of Aircraft Endanger Public Health and Welfare
The EPA responded to the petition for reconsideration of the final action, “Finding That Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Aircraft Cause or Contribute to Air Pollution That May Reasonably Be Anticipated To Endanger Public Health and Welfare.” The petition requested reconsideration of that finding with respect to the Agency’s treatment of biogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from short-cycle annual herbaceous crops. In the EPA’s response, the Administrator denied the petition for reconsideration for the reasons set forth in the below documents.

• Notice of Final Action Denying Petition for Reconsideration (PDF)(3 pp, 276 K, published December 30, 2016, About PDF)
• Petition for Reconsideration from Biogenic CO₂ Coalition to Gina McCarthy, U.S. EPA, for the Finding that Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aircraft Cause or Contribute to Air Pollution that May Reasonably be Anticipated to Endanger Public Health and Welfare (October 14, 2016)
• EPA Response to Petition from Biogenic CO₂ Coalition (December 21, 2016)

EPA Finalizes Clean Air Act Finding that Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Certain Classes of Aircraft Endanger Human Health and Welfare
EPA finalized findings that GHG emissions from certain classes of engines used in aircraft contribute to the air pollution that causes climate change endangering public health and welfare under section 231(a) of the Clean Air Act. The EPA’s findings were in preparation for the domestic rulemaking process to adopt the GHG standards.

2015

EPA proposed findings that GHG emissions from certain classes of engine used in aircraft contribute to the air pollution that causes climate change endangering public health and welfare under section 231(a) of the Clean Air Act. The EPA also sought input from the public on the then on-going process for setting international carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions standards for aircraft.

Proposed rulemaking (pdf) (published July 1, 2015)

2014

EPA submitted an information paper to the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that set a timeframe for initiating the U.S. domestic regulatory process for addressing greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft under the Clean Air Act.

U.S. Aircraft Greenhouse Gas Rulemaking Process submitted by the United States (pdf) (58.94 KB, September 2014)

2011-2012

EPA began taking steps to propose regulating GHG emissions from aircraft when multiple legal decisions required EPA to make an endangerment finding under the Clean Air Act to reduce the emission of air pollutants from aircraft that contribute to global climate change.

• EPA Response to the Petition for Rulemaking Under the Clean Air Act to Reduce the Emission of Air Pollutants from Aircraft that Contribute to Global Climate Change (pdf) (261.12 KB, June 2012)
• Court Decision on Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. US EPA - 2012 (pdf) (90.43 KB, March 2012)
• Court Decision on Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. US EPA - 2011 (pdf) (110.14 KB, July 2011)
• 2007 Petition for Rulemaking Under the Clean Air Act to Reduce the Emission of Air Pollutants from Aircraft that Contribute to Global Climate Change (pdf) (58.94 KB, December 2007)

2010

EPA begins working at ICAO to find best way to regulate CO₂ emissions from airplanes.

Learn more: 

• EPA Collaboration on International Air Pollution Standards for Aircraft

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List of Related Regulations

Below is a list of all regulations related to GHG emissions from aircraft.

• Regulations;
• Regulatory impact analyses;
• Comment summaries;
• Rule histories; and
• Fact sheets.