Paris (AFP)

The government must prevent the resumption of domestic flights to fight against climate change, argues Thursday Greenpeace, which considers the projects in this area too timid in the face of the challenges and the expectations of citizens.

As part of the bill resulting from the work of the Citizen's Convention for the Climate (CCC), the government wants to ban domestic flights if there is a possible alternative by train in less than 2:30, to the exclusion of flights by correspondence.

The CCC calls for the end of air traffic on domestic flights by 2025, for lines "where there is a low carbon alternative satisfactory in price and time (on a journey of less than 4 hours)".

"According to an analysis by Réseau Action Climat, the government's measure would only concern five lines out of the hundred or so existing internal connections", with a reduction of "6.6% in CO2 emissions from metropolitan flights, and 0.5 % emissions from all flights departing from France, ”recalls Greenpeace.

Removing lines of less than 5 hours by train would reduce CO2 emissions from metropolitan flights by 60.6%, according to the RAC, a federation of climate associations.

The government proposal would exclude "the three most emitting connections in 2019 (Paris-Nice, Paris-Toulouse, Paris-Marseille)", continues Greenpeace.

For these journeys, the plane emits 39 to 53 times more CO2 per passenger than the train, according to data compiled by the NGO SNCF and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the plane.

"To preserve the air lobby, the Minister of Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari refuses to really tackle the real problem: air traffic must be reduced, by protecting, supporting and associating the workers affected", asks Sarah Fayolle, Transport campaigner at Greenpeace, quoted in the press release.

"For the closure of internal air connections to work, it must go hand in hand with a revival of railways worthy of the name", continues the NGO.

Greenpeace also criticizes the promotion of the hydrogen plane as a solution to decarbonise the aviation sector when it "will not, at best, be put into service before 2035".

The NGO also pleads for the reduction of international traffic and opposes airport extension projects.

© 2021 AFP