By invitation only, a Select Committee Hearing for the House will examine aviation’s impact on global warming Wednesday, April 2, by examining the contribution to greenhouse gases caused by aircraft. Presently, aviation emissions “generate 12 percent of U.S. transportation carbon dioxide emissions and three percent of the Unites States’ total carbon dioxide emissions,” according to a government release announcing the hearing. The FAA estimates that U.S. demand for passenger and cargo aviation will at least double by 2025. Participants in the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming hearing include James May, president and CEO, Air Transport Association; Dan Elwell, FAA assistant administrator for aviation policy, planning, and environment; and Bob Meyers, principal deputy assistant administrator for the office of air and radiation for the environmental protection agency (EPA). No agenda was available at the time of this writing, but the hearing’s title may offer clues: “From the Wright Brothers to the Right Solutions: Curbing Soaring Aviation Emissions.”
