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UN agency proposes greenhouse gas emissions rules for planes

United Airlines planes are parked at their gates as another plane, top, taxis past them at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston.
United Airlines planes are parked at their gates as another plane, top, taxis past them at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

WASHINGTON – A U.N. panel says it is proposing greenhouse gas emissions standards for planes that fly internationally beginning in 2020 for new aircraft designs and three years later for designs already in production.

The International Civil Aviation Organization said the agreement reached by 170 international experts sets a cutoff date of 2028 for the manufacture of planes that don’t comply with the standards.

WATCH: ‘Doomsday Clock’: Greenhouse gases major contributor threatening global safety

Click to play video: '‘Doomsday Clock’: Greenhouse gases major contributor threatening global safety'
‘Doomsday Clock’: Greenhouse gases major contributor threatening global safety

Environmental groups quickly condemned the new standards, which they said were not stringent enough to meaningfully reduce pollution or slow climate change.

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Aviation accounts for about 5 per cent of global greenhouse emissions.

The action comes two months after U.N. climate negotiators in Paris left the aviation industry out of their landmark global agreement to combat global warming.

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