“We are in a total disproportion that it is urgent to settle”alerted Monday, August 22 on franceinfo Lucas Chancel, co-director of the laboratory on inequalities at the Paris School of Economics, while the Minister Delegate for Transport Clément Beaune said he was considering the regulation of private jet flights. “One hour of private jet will emit as much carbon as a Frenchman in his car for a year”, he recalled, calling for “not to point at the French who are asked to make efforts”.
franceinfo: Would it be useful to regulate private jet flights?
Lucas Chancell: Basically, we are only at the beginning of the efforts that everyone will have to make to achieve this climate transition. For that, if there is not a feeling of justice, a feeling shared by the French people who will be asked to make additional efforts in the months, in the years to come, a feeling according to which everyone is contribution, it will be very difficult to make this transition. For example, since last March, it is forbidden for ordinary mortals to take the plane if an alternative by train is possible for less than two and a half hours of travel. However, this passed law does not concern private jets. However, if the super polluters have super exemptions, it will be difficult to ask the French for more effort.
Should we regulate the use of private jets or outright ban it, as requested by the secretary general of Europe-Ecologie-Les Verts Julien Bayou?
From the moment the use of the plane is prohibited if there is an alternative by train for everyone, except for users of private jets, it is difficult to justify the fact that there could be a derogation for a means of transport which will pollute a hundred times, even a thousand times more than other low-carbon transport. I am for a principle that is quite simple, it is the principle of equality before the law. If we put in place a ban for the French, then it must concern everyone. Then, one can always look at the details and specific situations and in some cases, outright prohibition should not be enough. However, on the smallest flights, the ban seems quite necessary to me.
“To recall the orders of magnitude, an hour of private jet will emit as much carbon as a Frenchman in his car for an entire year. We are in a total excess that it is urgent to settle.”
Lucas Chancel, co-director of the laboratory on inequalities at the Paris School of Economicsat franceinfo
Isn’t the risk to hold up those who use them or to hold up the entire aviation sector because it is an economic issue?
I think that the challenge today is above all not to antagonize the majority of French people from whom we have begun to ask for effort. We will have to bring our carbon emissions, which today are around 9 tonnes per year per person, for French families, to zero tonnes in 2050. However, there are a handful of individuals who emit much more , which will emit 20 tons, 30 tons, 100 tons per year. The risk is rather to steer the majority of the population who would have the impression of making an effort when others have derogations. I think that’s what we have to think about today. We all need to embark on this transition and for that, there must be no derogations.