Air transport accounts for 4% of CO emissions2 in France and 2.5% worldwide. It may not seem like much. But it is a lot if we relate it to the individual scale: according to the French Environment and Energy Management Agencythe impact of the plane on the climate is about 200 times greater than the TGV per passenger-kilometre, for a journey in France or a European destination.
And this revolts the young generation sensitive to the climate emergency. There is even a name for it: the flygskam, the “shame of flying”, a movement of defiance born in 2018 in Sweden – the country of the young environmental activist Greta Thunberg is one of those with the most air travel per inhabitant. Many of those of Generation Z (born between 1998 and 2010) now refuse to fly or demand, at the very least, more aerial sobriety. The latest report from the Pégase Chair, attached to the Montpellier Business School, reveals that “young French people aged 15 to 24 are ready to pay 14% more for their tickets to fly in less polluting planes”, against 8% for the rest of the population.
Faced with this, the airlines and aircraft manufacturers have, it seems, decided to shake up the deadlines. “The air transport calendar has taken a boost”, says Eric Dalbiès, director of strategy, research, technology and innovation for engine manufacturer Safran. On the occasion of the European business aviation show Ebace, which was held from May 23 to 25 in Geneva, Switzerland, manufacturers, from Bombardier to Dassault, via Airbus and Gulfstream, have before their environmental protection efforts.
“Sustainable fuels, hydrogen engine”
Like Michel Ouellette, executive vice-president of Quebec Bombardier, who promises “carbon neutrality in 2050”, thanks to “sustainable fuels, hydrogen engines or even technological progress”. A paradoxical speech for an industry that produces luxury jets billed for more than 75 million euros, intended to transport only a few wealthy VIPs while burning tons of kerosene. “After having reduced its fuel consumption by 10% every fifteen years”explains Mr. Dalbiès, air transport has decided to double the bet by 2035. The engine of the aircraft of the future, in particular prepared by Safran, will be 20% more fuel efficient than its predecessor.
For its part, Air France already allows its passengers “to account for the part of integrated biofuel in their carbon footprint” in the aircraft’s fuel tanks, explains Vincent Etchebehere, director of sustainable development and new mobility for the company. The new regulations require, since January, flights departing from Paris to incorporate, on average, 1% of sustainable fuel. And that has a price. For a Paris-Stockholm, it will be necessary to pay up to 120 euros in addition to the price of the ticket and an additional 30 euros for a Paris-Lyon.
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