AIA - Aerospace Industries Association
In case you missed it, yesterday, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) President and CEO Eric Fanning testified before the House Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight hearing entitled “A Bar Too High: Concerns with CEQ’s Proposed Regulatory Hurdle for Federal Contracting.” The hearing focused on a proposed rule (FAR case 2021-015) requiring federal contractors to disclose greenhouse emissions throughout their complex supply chains and meet standards according to guidelines set by a foreign-run body.
Here are the six key takeaways from the hearing.
- All four witnesses agreed that ceding U.S. decision-making authority over emissions standards to an international body like the Standards-Based Technology initiative (SBTi) is problematic and jeopardizes U.S. leadership in sustainability.
- Requiring aerospace and defense companies to report on Scope 3 emissions is not executable and poses serious national security challenges.
- The proposed rule threatens national security by requiring the public disclosure of sensitive information on military systems to foreign nationals.
- The proposed rule will result in unintended effects up and down the aerospace and defense supply chain — as nearly all Department of Defense contractors will be required to undertake burdensome, complicated reporting on Scope 3 emissions.
- Shrinking of the defense industrial base will only be further exacerbated by the additional costs and burdens associated with the rule.
- American aerospace and defense companies are committed to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions —but this rule won’t help them achieve those goals.
