PARIS (Reuters) – French lawmakers voted late on Saturday to abolish domestic flights on routes that can be covered within two and a half hours by train, as the government seeks to reduce carbon emissions, even as the global air travel industry pandemic.
The measure is part of a broader climate bill aimed at reducing French carbon emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2030, although activists accuse President Emmanuel Macron of diluting earlier promises in the draft legislation.
The vote came days after the state said it would contribute to a 4 billion euro ($ 4.76 billion) recapitalization of Air France, which more than doubled its stake in the flag carrier, to increase its finances to more than to enlarge a year’s COBID-19 travel routes.
Industry Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher dismissed criticism from the aviation industry that a recovery from the pandemic was not the time to ban domestic flights, saying there was no conflict between the lifeline and the climate bill .
“We know that aviation is a contributor to carbon dioxide, and that we need to reduce climate change,” she told Europe 1. “Similarly, we need to support our businesses and not allow them to fall by the wayside.”
McKinsey analysts predict that air traffic may not return to pre-crisis levels before 2024.
Some campaigners for the area said the bill does not go far enough. A climate forum for citizens set up by Macron to help shape climate policy called for flights on routes where the train takes less than four hours to be removed.
Saturday night’s vote in the National Assembly was the first. The bill goes to the Senate before a third and final vote in the lower house, where Macron’s ruling party and allies dominate.
($ 1 = 0.8406 euros)
(Edited by Richard Lough; edited by Barbara Lewis)