Could California become the first US state to regulate airline emissions?
SACRAMENTO — California is split over a proposal to become the first U.S. state to regulate airline emissions.
The state has already led the country in regulating emissions of car pollution.
State Senator Henry Stern sits on the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB determines what to include in the state's newest low-carbon fuel standards and newest protections against pollution.
The board recently agreed to allow jet fuel to remain exempt from regulation, but Stern expects the negotiations to continue.
"It's unclear if they're going to follow through on it or not," Stern said.
According to Politico, California has 220,000 commercial flights a year. A third of them are in-state flights.
Ethan Elkind is the director of the UC Berkeley Center For Law, Energy and the Environment. He said the law is unclear on whether California can enter into airline emission regulations.
"There is concern that the federal government essentially has priority over regulating jet fuel," Elkind said. "So that's the risk California is facing in trying to pioneer some policies here."
Airlines are lobbying against California regulations. Delta Airlines lobbyist Annalee Augustine testified to CARB's proposed regulation.
"It would simply increase the price of jet fuel," Augustine said. "Making jet fuel more expensive does not incentivize airlines to buy more sustainable aviation fuel and does not incentivize producers to increase production."
Airline ticket prices have already increased in recent years without California emissions regulations.
According to data released earlier this year from USA Today, flights out of Sacramento are up 25%. San Francisco departures are up 20%, and Los Angeles departures are up 35%.
"I think it's more of a clash of the titans, right?" Stern said. "Airlines consider themselves international players that can't be touched by a mere state like California and so that power dynamics is also at play."
The final decision by the California Air Resources Board on its low carbon standards is expected later this year.