Airlines for America (A4A) Commends International Civil Aviation Organization Committee on Aircraft Emissions Work

News provided by

Jul 11, 2012, 04:26 ET

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today commended the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) for achieving a critical milestone in its work to develop a first-of-its-kind carbon dioxide (CO2) standard for new aircraft. At meetings being held in St. Petersburg, Russia, CAEP agreed to the metric system that will be used to define the standard.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111201/DC15444LOGO)

"ICAO is again demonstrating its leadership for setting global aviation industry standards, and we commend the work of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection for reaching this first milestone toward a CO2 standard for new aircraft," said A4A Vice President, Environmental Affairs Nancy Young. "U.S. airlines are committed to reducing fuel burn through a number of measures, including acquiring new, fuel-efficient aircraft that will meet global greenhouse gas standards."

In addition to developing a CO2 standard for aircraft, ICAO is the appropriate venue to discuss potential market-based measures and other methods for further carbon-emissions reductions and that work that is slated to be completed in 2013. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, opposed by the United States and every other non-EU country, has been a roadblock to finalizing a full agreement at ICAO.

A4A and its member airlines are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and, with fuel-efficiency improvements saving more than 3.3 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions since 1978, have a strong record of meeting that commitment. By investing billions of dollars in fuel-saving aircraft and engines, innovative technologies and advanced avionics, the U.S. airline industry improved its fuel efficiency by 120 percent between 1978 and 2011, resulting in emissions savings equivalent to taking 22 million cars off the road each of those years.

About A4A
Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 10 million U.S. jobs. A4A airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesdotorg.

SOURCE Airlines for America