Banning short-haul domestic flights

Why in news?

France became the first country in the world to impose a ban on short-haul domestic flights.

Why did the French ban short-haul domestic flights?

• Short-haul flights - Short-haul is a flight lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours.
• Medium-haul is defined by flights lasting between 3-6 hours.
• Long-haul flights are those that extend beyond 6 hours.
• France brought in a new law that bans air travel to destinations that can be covered by up to two-and-a-half hour journey by train.
• France banned short domestic flights in favour of train services and to reduce aviation emissions.

What is the emission status of the aviation industry?

• Air transport, globally, accounts for just about 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions every year, and less than 2% of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Even though aviation contributes a minuscule part of the total emissions, they are still considered a big worry mainly due to 2 reasons.
  • It is generated by a very small fraction of global population.
  • It is projected to grow at a very fast pace.
• Airplanes also produce non-CO2 emissions and their impact on global warming is equally significant.

According to the UN Climate Change, if the non-CO2 emissions, like water vapour, are also accounted for, the airline industry would be responsible for causing almost 5% of historical global warming.

What is the situation with private jets?

• The trend of using private planes has been increasing rapidly in the Europe.
• At the same time, there is a growing demand for a wider crackdown on private aviation.
• France, the Netherlands, Austria and Ireland are urging the European Union to strengthen regulations to discourage travel by private jets.

Transport and Environment, a European transport campaign group, estimated that private jets were 5 to 14 times more polluting, per passenger, than commercial planes, and 50 times more polluting than trains.

What are the issues with aviation emissions?

• The emissions from planes flying within the boundaries of a country are attributed to that country.
• But emissions from airlines making international flights are not attributable to any country.
• No country has any responsibility to curtail these emissions.
• These emissions are not covered under the Paris Agreement.

Is there any offset mechanism so far?

• In 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) introduced an offset mechanism called Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

• The offset plan CORSIA is supposed to run from 2021 to 2035.
• CORSIA does not deal with total emissions and only seeks to offset emissions that are over and above 2020 levels.
• The mechanism ensures that the excess emission is compensated for by the airline industry through investment in carbon saving projects elsewhere.

What are the other methods to reduce carbon emissions?

• Biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells have been tried as alternate fuels.
• Solar powered planes have also made trips.
• Unlike road or rail travel, aviation does not have viable technology alternatives for shifting to cleaner fuels.
• These alternative fuels for flying large commercial airliners is still unviable.

References

1. IE - France bans short-haul domestic flights?
2. IE - France bans short domestic flights to cut down on emissions