Environmental groups sue to compel EPA to complete airline emissions standards for aircrafts

A coalition of environmental groups sought action in court against the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to put pressure on the agency to establish limits on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. aircrafts.

Friends of the Earth, Earth Justice and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Columbia to force the EPA to complete its "endangerment finding," which is a necessary step in EPA's rule-making process on regulating carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. airlines and cargo planes. The groups further allege that the EPA has been delaying the process for years.

According to the lawsuit filed by the coalition, the EPA dismissed its mandate under the Clean Air Act which provides that any "unreasonable delay" in setting emission standards for aircrafts is tantamount to a violation of the law, Reuters reported.

In July 2011, a federal court ruled that it is the duty of the EPA under the Clean Air Act to determine what airline emissions level are deemed damaging to people. The EPA is expected to come out with a complete endangerment finding later this spring, seven years after the federal court ruling.

USA Today wrote that the groups didn't specify any emission reduction goals in their lawsuit. The only remedy sought is the issuance of a court order that will compel the EPA to complete its endangerment finding within 30 days, after which emission standards should be proposed to airline companies and operators.

EPA plans to implement a global carbon dioxide emission standard pursuant to that is developed by the United Nations International Civil Aviation, which they will formally propose in 2017, CNBC reported.

However, the groups find that these standards are "embarrassingly low." They argue that the standards would not make in significant effect on emission reduction from the aviation sector, which is known as fastest-growing contributor of carbon emissions.

Tags

Environmental Protection Agency, Friends of the Earth, Center for Biological Diversity, Earth Justice, Clean Air Act, carbon dioxide emissions, United Nations, United Nations International Civil Aviation

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