Since the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) and the Paris Agreements, environmental awareness really has gone global. That’s undoubtedly good news, as energy transition will be the challenge for decades to come. But does that mean we have to stop travelling? We try to clear a few things up…

A new trend has recently appeared in Sweden: Flygskam, which literally translates as “flying shame”. The expression has been adopted by a group of consumers who have decided to stop travelling by air to avoid contributing to climate change. The idea quickly created a buzz on social networks, and may even have caused the 21% increase in traffic recorded last winter by Swedish rail companies. The Flygskam debate didn’t take long to spread to the rest of Europe.

Leaving aside the media hype, the social dimension of this phenomenon deserves closer scrutiny. Flygskam has undeniably touched a nerve with many Europeans struggling to reconcile their actions with their ecological consciences, especially when it comes to travel.

Taking stock

To address the issue, we must first take stock of the current situation. According to the International Energy Agency, transport accounts for 24% of global CO₂ emissions, far less than the energy sector. This is because, despite continuing growth in renewable energies, most worldwide electricity production is still hugely dependent on fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas made up 64% of the energy mix in power plants in 2018. The environmental impact of transport therefore needs to be placed in context: most individual CO₂ emissions come from domestic electricity usage – heating, air conditioning, appliances, electronics, etc.

The emergence of new behaviours

As far as mobility is concerned, the world’s ecological and energy transition is generally well under way. We are already seeing behaviour changing in day-to-day travel. So-called “soft” modes of transport are forging ahead in large cities: use of bikes, electric shuttle buses and car shares is increasing compared with individual car use. In the commercial world, businesses are having their own revolution: more and more are equipping their company fleets with electric vehicles and promoting ride-sharing.

Operator commitment

More generally, all operators and other actors in mobility are working to limit their impacts by improving their processes, and by modernising their equipment and infrastructure. In the road sector, which accounts for three-quarters of CO₂ emissions from transport (including goods freight), 2018 marked new growth in alternative engine types, with almost 2 million electric cars sold, a one-year increase of 68%.

Things are changing in the rail sector too. In France, the SNCF group set a goal of reducing its CO₂ emissions by 25% between 2015 and 2025, mainly by replacing its oldest rolling stock and financing its infrastructure works through green bonds. In 2017, for example, the works financed through this relatively new type of responsible instrument will enable a saving of nearly 6 million metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalent over the next 40 years.

Aviation prepares for a revolution

Air transport is the only transport sector to have made quantifiable commitments at the industry level. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) intends to stabilise CO₂ emissions by 2020 and then reduce them 50% by 2050. Since 2005, airlines have reduced their consumption of aviation fuel by 24%, and the technology continues to advance. Through the Clean Sky programme, the sector is aiming to reduce CO₂ emissions by 50%, NO_x (nitrogen dioxide) emissions by 80% and noise pollution by 50%, all in the short term. These targets are all the more ambitious given the continuing growth in air traffic: 5% per year on average, which means it is doubling every 15 years. Set to increase to 7 billion passengers by 2032, we may be seeing 16 billion by 2050.

A technological race

For aircraft manufacturers, equipment suppliers and research laboratories, the race to develop eco-responsible technologies is on. In the United States, for example, MIT, Nasa and Pratt & Whitney are currently designing the aircraft of the future: the Aurora D8, known affectionately as “The Double Bubble”. Its atmospheric emissions will be 70% lower compared with conventional airplanes. And this is just the beginning! The major aircraft manufacturers are not only dreaming up new designs, but also new fuels based on such things as algae, electricity and hydrogen, as well as looking for ways to improve existing aircraft.

The “clean” aircraft has emerged from the realm of science fiction. Take the Flying-V unveiled at the beginning of June by KLM and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands: with its distinctive V shape, this concept promises to transport 314 passengers over long distances while consuming 20% less fuel than a traditional aircraft.

The challenge of clean infrastructure

Of course, any environmental effort in the air transport industry also involves the management of infrastructure. This is the rationale behind the Airport Carbon Accreditation initiative, a worldwide programme to promote, regulate and check the fight against greenhouse gas emissions within airports. VINCI Airports is one of the initiative’s most committed participants. This airport network and subsidiary of VINCI Concessions had already been pursuing an ambitious environmental policy since 2015. Its programme, named “AirPact”, aims to make a real, positive impact on the 46 airports it manages in 12 countries. Energy, carbon footprint, waste, water, pollution, noise and biodiversity – its facilities share common aims to better define their priorities and precisely evaluate their performance. In four years, VINCI Airports has reduced the carbon impact of its airport network by 19%, notably by installing solar panels for internal consumption and replacing existing lighting with LED equivalents. Boosted by this initial success, VINCI Airports has updated its plan with new targets for 2030: to reduce its carbon footprint by an additional 48% and make the majority of its airports carbon neutral.

Rethinking the mix

Road, rail, air: each mode of transport has its pros and cons in terms of environmental impact. It seems both pointless and unrealistic to give up one mode in favour of another. Reducing CO₂ emissions linked to transport certainly depends partly on changing individual behaviours, and on an intelligent mix of different means of transport according to our needs and the distances involved. But the solutions having the strongest impact will surely come from within the industry itself. Through innovation in services and technologies, most operators have already begun to limit their emissions – without affecting their customers’ ability to travel and discover the world.