US aircraft make up 3% of the national carbon dioxide emissions and only .5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. With an average growth of 5% per year, the aircraft flying from US airports will emit 25% of the world’s remaining allowance for carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2050. If that allowance is breached, global temperatures are calculated to rise more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
The EPA is creating limits to regulate the fuel efficiency of aircraft with the goal of reducing fuel usage by 4% by the year 2028. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation aircraft manufacturers are capable of implementing systems to reduce emissions of airplanes by 25% by 2024. With this regulation and support by manufacturers the entire industry could easily avoid breaching the global carbon budget.
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