The “Toulouse Declaration” paves the way towards carbon-free air transport
To set an example, by encouraging countries around the world to take the path of carbon-free aviation: such was the stated ambition, and not the least, of the European Aviation Summit, which was held on Thursday 3 and Friday, February 4 in Toulouse, the European capital of aeronautics. On the initiative of the French Minister of Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, the Ministers of Transport of the 27 countries of the European Union as well as representatives of the United States, Canada, Japan and Morocco responded to different themes, all behind closed doors, such as technological innovations (design, motorization, use of electric, hybrid or hydrogen), the improvement of operations (trajectories, flight in formation) or the optimization of infrastructures airport operators and the distributor of sustainable aviation fuels.
At the end of these two days, the European ministers, a dozen associations and industrialists and seven other countries signed and adopted the “Toulouse Declaration”. This common charter of good conduct, based on “voluntary commitment, without legal obligation” has set itself the objective of achieving net zero carbon emissions for air transport by 2050.
“What we are trying to do is to give visibility to this issue. We want to achieve this objective in a fair way without a bypass strategy and lay the international foundations,” French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari explained in Toulouse. “This declaration is an important moment to take this European ambition internationally. »
Because the other but of this high mass, organized within the framework of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union, was also “to bring a stone to the building” in the perspective of a possible future international regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, whose 41st assembly will be held on September 30, 2022. “It is not won”, noted the Ministry of Transport . “Because countries are reluctant to apply these constraints. But it’s a first step. »
A moratorium on the development of air transport
While this summit was about to end on Friday at the premises of the National School of Civil Aviation (Enac), a demonstration organized about twenty kilometers away, at the call of the collective Thinking about Aeronautics for Tomorrow (PAD), which is made up of several associations.
“More jobs, – more planes”, “job-creating investments”, or even “retraining: diversification of jobs” were some of the slogans that could be read on posters added to a shelter bus in front of Toulouse-Blagnac airport. “We asked to participate in this summit as aeronautical experts. We received no response. We were ignored”, regrets Romain Morizot of the Icare association, a collective of aeronautical employees and member of PAD.
“So we opted for a demonstration to make ourselves heard. Because when we saw the program for this summit, we realized that if technology was included, growth was not. Or, the scientists are unanimous. They say that if air transport believes, technological innovations are not sufficient to stem the rise in aviation emissions,” adds this spokesperson, a telecom engineer in aeronautics, who claims in particular a moratorium on the development of air transport, including the abandonment of all airport construction or extension projects and the end of subsidies granted to companies in the aviation sector without social and environmental compensation.
Audrey Sommazi
Pictured: Jean-Baptiste Djebbari visiting Toulouse last November, here at Aura Aero.
Credits: Rémy Gabalda – ToulÉco.