France has taken a major step in its fight against carbon emissions by implementing a law that bans domestic short-haul flights in cases where train alternatives are readily available.
The law, which took effect two years after lawmakers approved it, specifically targets routes where a single trip can be completed by train in two and a half hours. As a result, air travel options between Paris and several cities, including Nantes, Lyon, and Bordeaux, have been virtually eliminated. However, connecting flights remain unaffected by the ban.
While the move has been hailed as a step toward sustainability, critics say the impact may be more symbolic than significant. Laurent Doncel, interim head of Airlines for Europe (A4E), expressed doubts about the ban’s effectiveness in reducing CO2 emissions. According to him, “banning these trips will have only a minimal impact” and suggested that governments should prioritize supporting concrete and substantive solutions to tackle the problem.
The aviation industry has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of flights around the world significantly reduced. Flightradar24, a popular flight tracking website, reported a nearly 42 percent drop in the number of flights in 2020 compared to 2019.
Despite the challenges faced by airlines, France’s Citizens’ Convention on Climate, which included 150 members of the public and was founded by President Emmanuel Macron in 2019, has proposed an end to air travel and tougher climate change. Suggested procedures where less than four hour train options were available. . However, due to objections from certain regions and Air France-KLM, the proposed time limit was reduced to two and a half hours.
The move to ban short-haul flights is based on the significant disparity in carbon emissions between planes and trains. French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir highlighted that, on average, airplanes emit 77 times more CO2 per passenger than trains on comparable routes.
Moreover, the train option is not only more eco-friendly but also cost-effective with a limited time difference of only 40 minutes. The consumer group also called for safeguards to ensure that the French national railway, SNCF, does not exploit the situation by raising prices or compromising the quality of rail services.
In summary, France’s decision to implement a ban on domestic short-haul flights with available train alternatives represents an important step towards reducing carbon emissions. However, CO2 reduction and its actual impact on the aviation industry remains a matter of debate.