Aviation Regulation for Net-Zero aircraft.

Stakeholders will need new safety tools and a new technical language. Shannon Aero is developing competence in these areas.

The devil is in the detail, raising many new questions, needing answers that will require technical experts and familiary with Net-Zero technology.

Climate change rule landmark.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions.Corporate greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions fall into three categories:1. Scope 1 are the emissions a company generates from its own operations.2. Scope 2 are the emissions indirectly created by a company.3. Scope 3 are the emissions generated by a company supply chain, including customers, suppliers and other partners.Regulatory changes on the table.The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.S. securities regulator, is working on a draft of a new climate change regulation, that promises to be a landmark change. Their is no agreed methodology for calculating Scope 3 emissions.The work is still in progress. Pressure to release the regulation comes from Civil Society Groups and investor activists advocating that public companies be required to disclose both their own GHG emissions and those generated by their customers, suppliers and other partners. The rule is opposed by corporate groups on the basis that the level of emissions detail would be burdensome tto business. They are advocaing for a narrower draft making it easier and less costly to gather and report emissions data, and that also protects corporations from being sued on environmental omissions grounds. The tensions between the opposing groups, has delayed consideration of the rule by the SEX commissioners. The draft rule was due to be released in October 2021, then pushed back to early 2022 but the commissioners have not received a draft to date.

Regulations.

Pandemic, black swan events and climate-emissions-control developments, have given rise to aviation issues that have not yet become subject to debate. These include:
  • Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems
  • Potential for future use of “flags of convenience” in international air transportation.
  • Abuse of Forum Non Conveniens in Montreal Convention cases and Ownership.
  • Control and the Right of Establishment.

Regulatory Authority.

  • It would not be an overstatement to say that the history of Aviation Regulation can be a history of commercial aviation. The rules and regulations promulgated since the Paris Convention of 1919 have been largely driven by the technological advances of manned flight, beginning that December day in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, when the Wright Brothers first went airborne with the powered Wright Flyer.

  • Aircraft fleet regulation.
  • A major regulatory requirement is the registration and airworthiness status of the airline’s fleet. In order for an aircraft to operate into a country, it must have an airworthiness certificate that is recognized by that country. Otherwise it will not be allowed to operate. While that can be considered a “given”, there are instances where a specific aircraft may not have an airworthines certificate on record in a country and therefore it is recommended that such certificate be confirmed. The unknown is what will happen when a country fails to sign on to revised and updated ICAO treaties governing recognition of aircraft built in a foreign country!

  • Tecnical regulation - Op Spec for scheduled airlines.
  • The approval of the economic authority to provide commercial air services does not give permission to an airline to operate the routes licenced. The requirements for meeting of technical requirements as set out by ICAO and the country' CAAs is critical to final approval as a certificated air carrier. The FAA has the authority to approve U.S. airlines.

  • Tecnical Manuals.
  • The most important document that an airline is required to submit to regulators is the Operations Manual. The regulator will closely scrutinize the manual because it is the one document that directs the entire operations of the airline. In fact, the manual is so important that the regulator will generally assign a staff member to work with the airline during the review process to ensure the manual meets the requirements of the governing rules. Other manuals will be inspected as well, and these include:
  • 1. Training Manual,
  • 2. Maintenance Program
  • 3. Aircraft Technical Logs and;
  • 4. Crew Licensing.
  • In addition, the names and qualifications of key management staff are required, including the Chief Pilot, the Flight Operations Manager, Maintenance Manager, Training Manager and Ground Operations Manager.

  • Certification to Operate to a Foreign Country
  • Established airlines desiring to operate to foreign countries are required to make application to the appropriate authorities for permission. In the case of the U.S., the USDOT has jurisdiction, as do the CAAs of EU or non-EU countries. The requirements for approval are not as extensive as those for a start-up airline, however, a history of satisfactory operations must be evident. At the minimum, a valid CPCN/OpSpecs or AOL/AOC is mandatory. In addition, proof of insurance, proof of financial ability and aircraft registration information must be made available. The proposed operations must also be in compliance with the applicable ASA. In some jurisdictions, age and noise restrictions may apply.

  • Accident Investigation
  • Nearly every country that has any sort of transportation infrastructure has in place a system to investigate accidents. In the US, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is tasked by law with that duty. Originally an agency within the USDOT, it was severed from that agency by the Independent Safety Board Act of 1974 and is mandated with maintaining independence and objectivity in carrying out its duties.

  • The core of the NTSB are its “Go Teams”. These are the duty investigators who are ready to deploy to an accident immediately upon learning of it. Consisting of up to a dozen specialists, when on duty rotation, the teams are reachable at all times and have at the ready their “tools of the trade”, consisting of such basic items as selected wrenches, screwdrivers, flashlights, tape recorders, cameras and devices peculiar to their individual specialty.

Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)(Drones)

The FAA refers to “Drones” as “Unmanned Aircraft Systems” (UAS), and defines them as “aircraft operated without the possibility of direct human intervention from within or on the aircraft.” There are two types: The Small UAS (sUAS) that weigh less than 55 pounds (including everything on board the aircraft), such as those flown by individual hobbyists and by companies; and Large UAS that weigh 55 pounds or more, such as military drones and border patrol UAS. There are three types of UAS operations: 1. Public, which is performed by government agencies and organizations such as law enforcement, firefighting, and border patrol; 2. Civil Aircraft Operations, performed by private, nongovernmental organizations and individuals and; 3. Model Aircraft Operations, performed by hobbyists or recreational users operating sUAS flown for noncommercial purposes. Federal regulation related to the commercial use of sUAS/UAS is a work in progress. States are enacting a rapidly developing body of law related to sUAS/UAS use; industry is heavily engaged in public strategies to shape the future of sUAS/UAS laws and regulations; recreational use is skyrocketing, but commercial use is lagging due to legal and regulatory constraints. Concerns about safety and liability threaten to impede progress toward more widespread use of UAS for commercial purposes.
  • Safety.
  • Conducting objective, precise inspections, investigations and safety studies will be different in many technical areas:
  • Keeping current on transportation safety,
  • Assessing the implications of every civil aviation accident involving Net-Zero aircraft,
  • Airman certification compliance with new Net-Zero standards,
  • Accountability for implementing safety recommendations,
  • Litigation consequences and the provision of assistance to victims of transportation accidents and their families.
  • Insuring that safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents are implemented.
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Surge in demand.

Companies and Organizations reported a surge in private and public entities signing onto climate action commitments in 2020. This occurred after the UN IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) declared 2020 to 2029 as the final window to counteract catastrophic climate damage, Having now declared a commitment, the challenge for them is to successfully deliver on their GHG reduction commitments.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) provides standards, guidance, tools and training for business and government to measure and manage climate-warming emissions.The GHGP arose when WRI and WBCSD recognized the need for an international standard for corporate GHG accounting and reporting in the late 1990s. Together with large corporate partners such as BP and General Motors, in 1998 WRI published a report called, “Safe Climate, Sound Business.” It identified an action agenda to address climate change that included the need for standardized measurement of GHG emissions.
Similar initiatives were being discussed at WBCSD. In late 1997, WRI senior managers met with WBCSD officials and an agreement was reached to launch an NGO-business partnership to address standardized methods for GHG accounting. WRI and WBCSD convened a core steering group comprised of members from environmental groups (such as WWF, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, The Energy Research Institute) and industry (such as Norsk Hydro, Tokyo Electric, Shell) to guide the multi-stakeholder standard development process.
The first edition of the Corporate Standard, published in 2001, has been updated with additional guidance that clarifies how companies can measure emissions from electricity and other energy purchases, and account for emissions from throughout their value chains. GHG Protocol also developed a suite of calculation tools to assist companies in calculating their greenhouse gas emissions and measure the benefits of climate change mitigation projects.
The Paris Agreement, adopted within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) in December 2015, commits participating all countries to limit global temperature rise, adapt to changes already occurring, and regularly increase efforts over time. GHG Protocol is developing standards, tools and online training that helps countries and cities track progress towards their climate goals.





GHG Protocol supplies the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards. The standards below are designed to provide a framework for businesses, governments, and other entities to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions in ways that support their missions and goals. In 2016, 92% of Fortune 500 companies responding to the CDP used GHG Protocol directly or indirectly through a program based on GHG Protocol. It provides the accounting platform for virtually every corporate GHG reporting program in the world. Product StandardThe Product Standard can be used to understand the full life cycle emissions of a product
 and focus efforts on the greatest GHG reduction opportunities. This is the first step towards more sustainable products.
The popularity of GHG Protocol standards is due in part to the widespread stakeholder outreach and consultation that is facilitated by WRI and WBCSD during each standard development project.The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. The global standard for GHG emissions accounting, the quantification and disclosure of carbon emissions from scopes 1 and 2 are required, while the inclusion of scope 3 depends on the specific commitment. Each covers a different scope of emissions:• Scope 1: Direct operational emissions including onsite combustion and mobile sources• Scope 2: Indirect operational emissions from purchased electricity and steam• Scope 3: Emissions from upstream and downstream activities that the organization indirectly impacts in its value chain, which are typically the majority of an organization’s total emissions
Each carbon commitment’s target language also varies from net zero to zero or absolute zero. Net zero indicates carbon neutrality by the target date, whereas zero or absolute zero refers to eliminating all emissions, scopes 1, 2, and 3, without the use of carbon offsets.
Purchasing carbon offsets or credits is a common supplemental strategy to the overall carbon reduction plan, and there are best practices to ensure they have the most impact. When accompanied by longer-term carbon removal credits such as renewable energy credits (RECs), virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA), or biogenic removal projects, offsets are a strong component of decarbonization strategy.
HOW WILL ORGANIZATIONS BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ACHIEVING THEIR CARBON COMMITMENTS?
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