France bans short-haul domestic flights to cut carbon emissions. 2 years ago, lawmakers voted to end routes where same journey can be made by train in under 2.5 hours. After two years, the law came in to force.
The ban includes air travel between Paris and other cities like Nantes, Lyon and Bordeaux but connecting flights are unaffected.
In the beginning, France's Citizens' Convention on Climate (created in 2019 and included 150 members of the public) prosed to end routes where same journey can be made by train in under 4 hours. This was reduced to the 2.5 hours after objections.
According to the French consumer group UFC-Que Choisir, "on average, the plane emits 77 times more CO2 per passenger than the train on these routes, even though the train is cheaper and the time lost is limited to 40 minutes." They have called to lawmakers to retain the 4 hours.
It would be interesting to see if other countries take suit and that the lawmakers in France increases the time to 4 hours or not.
Source: BBC News
