A bill filed Wednesday by a trio of House Democrats would
require the Transportation Department to keep tabs on airlines’ climate-change
mitigation efforts.
The National Evaluation of Aviation and Aerospace Solutions
to Climate Change Act of 2020 would require the DOT to engage the National
Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine to conduct a study on the
mitigation efforts of civil aviation and aeronautics companies.
The bill is co-sponsored by House Aviation Subcommittee
Chairman Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) and Rep. Sharice
Davids (D-Kansas).
Aviation accounts for an estimated 2.5% of the world’s
greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. The
bill comes as various aviation and aerospace entities are already ratcheting up
their commitment to carbon-reduction initiatives amid growing pressure from
consumers.
For example, this month Delta committed to spending $1
billion over the next 10 years in an effort to become the first carbon-neutral
airline.
As part of the study, the National Academies would be required
to identify climate change mitigation efforts, including emerging technologies;
develop an appropriate indicator for assessing the effectiveness of such
efforts; identify gaps in such efforts; identify barriers preventing expansion
of such efforts; and develop recommendations.
Larsen said the bill would “serve as a roadmap for the steps
the aviation and aerospace sector must take to achieve a 100% clean economy by
2050.”