Airline CEOs Set for White House Meeting on Carbon Footprint

A handful of U.S. airline chief executive officers will meet with White House officials on Friday to discuss how the industry can reduce its carbon footprint and use greener fuels.

The White House and a spokeswoman for a group representing the airlines declined to comment to Reuters News Service, which first broke the story.

According to the Air Transport Action Group, air travel contributes around two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions – which is expected to rise over the next several decades.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported U.S airlines and renewable energy companies are lobbying the Biden administration to back a big increase in subsidies for lower-carbon aviation fuel. They say new incentives are needed to help fight climate change.

That’s what will likely be on the table for discussion, in addition to other topics, by the CEOs of American, Delta, Southwest and United airlines, who are among the aviation industry figures invited to the sit-down. Representing the Biden administration will be White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy and economic adviser Brian Deese.

McCarthy previously told Reuters she started discussions with the utility and automobile sectors about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, so aviation was a natural next choice.

She said the talks were part of a broad effort by the Biden administration to engage every federal agency to decarbonize the U.S. power sector by 2035 and the whole economy by 2050.