[johnm]

France moves to ban short haul internal flights

[CloudHound]

I'm sure once HS2 is up and running the same will happen here.

Fortunately that's years away.

[Morten]

Alternative solutions to the environmental impact of regional air travel may become available...

[Colonel Panic]

Sadly I don't think it'll happen here. With airlines charging Mickey Mouse prices to fly, & train prices being as daft but in the other direction it rarely makes financial sense. Even if it is a far nicer way to travel.

[PeteSpencer]

Before I retired I travelled frequently by CAT for the part time job from Norwich to Manchester and back after a coupla days..

Initially flying was a fraction of the price of the rail journey and a tenth of the faff/time involved of rail travel.

(Apart from the memorable time when Eyjafjallajokull erupted after I'd flown into MAN and I had to travel by rail down to London then back up to Norwich to rescue my car from the Airport car park.)

However, by the time I fully retired the air fares (flybe) had overtaken rail by some margin ....

[johnm]

I'll only do short haul by aeroplane if I'm flying myself otherwise train into big cities and car everywhere else.

[Flyingfemme]

Is it the case that road/rail are less "damaging" than flying? The impact of building roads/railways is huge on communities and landscapes, not to mention eating large quantities of resources to build and maintain these thoroughfares. A runway is only a tiny bit of the journey and needs hardly any space, or resources, in comparison.

[johnm]

@Flyingfemme I share your reservation about overall environmental impact and construction of railways is not carbon free. In mainland Europe the construction tends to be simpler as there’s more space so the carbon equation might be be a bit better....I avoid short haul because CAT airports are such a miserable experience

[Josh]

Several colleagues who live in France have made clear it’s a fig leaf/green washing law and wouldn’t stop any currently operating domestic flight.

[johnm]

Comforting to know that the triumph of form over substance pervades the wider world

[skydriller]

The whole idea is flawed.

How is someone in Nantes or Bordeaux or any other place in france other than the Paris Basin expected to be able to fly anywhere medium or long haul without connecting through CDG ?? No doubt Amsterdam, London or Munich might work sometimes, but not every time.

And its all very well if you want to get from near the relavent Train station in Paris to the center of Bordeaux or Toulouse or Montpellier etc. But try getting from 30mins north of Paris to 30 mins (atlantic coast) west of Bordeaux Airport...

Ridiculous... SD..

[Genghis the Engineer]

Whilst I very much agree with @Flyingfemme , I'm afraid @skydriller that you are missing the point a bit. Climate emissions are a massive and existential threat to us as a planet and species, and absolutely do need to be reduced. Inconvenience to you, I, or Frederic Leblogges in Nantes is only significant insofar as making change convenient makes it easier to persuade people to change voluntarily. We still need to change, in whatever way reduces our emissions as far as possible- even if that makes our lives much less convenient.

On the other hand @johnm is almost certainly correct that it is a PR figleaf, of little real utility in reducing emissions.

G

[johnm]

@Genghis the Engineer I understand the point and admit to being less green than perhaps I should be. That said I think the Powers That Be and indeed the Green movement are pretty Carp at looking at whole life carbon costs and some of their pronouncements are facile.

The issue needs more systematic and focussed attention and less half baked assumptions.

For example I did a carbon footprint model ages ago (I can't find the model anymore) and because I have 10 acres of trees my NET footprint was minute and that's just daft.

[CloudHound]

I see the initials SAF being used a lot recently.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel which appears to offer a level of improvement in environmental emissions.

Maybe not a long term solution which I think involves hydrogen, electricity and Flubber.

[skydriller]

I'm afraid @skydriller that you are missing the point a bit. Climate emissions are a massive and existential threat to us as a planet and species, and absolutely do need to be reduced. Inconvenience to you, I, or Frederic Leblogges in Nantes is only significant insofar as making change convenient makes it easier to persuade people to change voluntarily. We still need to change, in whatever way reduces our emissions as far as possible- even if that makes our lives much less convenient.

Best thing we as a species could do for the planet :

1. Not do anything to combat C19 or cancer etc. - just let people die.
2.Limit everyone worldwide to ONE child then sterilization.

That should cut the global population significantly and save the planet within 100 years or possibly even earlier... no more problem...

Might be a little inconvenient for a few people though...

Regards, SD..