States, groups to file petition on environment

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A coalition of states and environmental groups is urging the federal government to curb global warming pollution from planes and other aircraft.

California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvannia and the District of Columbia plan to file a petition Wednesday asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from domestic and foreign aircraft departing or landing at American airports.

“We want the EPA to take their head out of the sand and actively promulgate rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Attorney General Jerry Brown told The Associated Press. “The EPA has taken a very passive and unimaginative approach to combating global warming.”

Aviation is responsible for about three percent of the country’s overall carbon dioxide emissions, and the Federal Aviation Administration expects domestic aircraft emissions to rise by 60 percent by 2025, according to the petition.

The petition asks the EPA to develop rules to reduce aircraft emissions by requiring operators to boost fuel efficiency, use cleaner fuels or build lighter, more aerodynamic airplanes.

Earthjustice, an Oakland-based environmental law firm, plans to file a similar petition on behalf of Friends of the Earth, Oceana and the Center for Biological Diversity. The city of New York and the South Coast Air Quality Management District joined the states’ petition.

EPA officials said the agency will review the petitions after they’re filed, but defended its efforts to combat global warming.

“The U.S. has invested over $37 billion on climate change science, technology and tax incentive programs — more than any other country in the world,” the EPA said in statement.