The United Nations' International Civil Aviation
Organization has issued new standards to cut aircraft carbon emissions by more
than 650 million tons between 2020 and 2040, according to a White House
statement.
The standards apply to all sizes of aircraft but in
particular aim to cut emissions from large, long-haul commercial aircraft.
Those account for more than 90 percent of international aviation emissions,
according to the ICAO. The standards will apply to aircraft designed in 2020
and beyond and to aircraft in production beginning in 2023. The organization
also recommended 2028 as a cutoff date for production of noncompliant aircraft.
"Our sector presently accounts for under 2 percent of
the world's annual CO2 emissions, but we also recognize that the
projected doubling of global passengers and flights by 2030 must be managed
responsibly and sustainably," ICAO council president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu
said in a statement.
The standards are subject to approval by the ICAO's
36-state governing council later this year.