SUSTAINABILITY
-30%
CO₂ emissions per passenger- kilometre by 2030 vs 2019
© Air France
© Air France
Facing the climate crisis, Air France is assuming its responsibility and taking action.
Find out more about our commitments for a responsible travel.
83% direct emissions - 16.2 mTCO₂
Fuel combustion
17% indirect emissions - 3.4 mTCO₂
Mostly related to the production and transport of fuel
0.04% production of electricity consuled - 0.008 mTCO₂
© Air France
SUSTAINABILITY
-30%
CO₂ emissions per passenger- kilometre by 2030 vs 2019
SUSTAINABILITY
-25%
CO₂ emissions on average for a latest generation aircraft such as the Airbus A350
SUSTAINABILITY
10%
incorporation of sustainable aviation fuel by 2030
REDUCE
our direct CO₂ emissions as rapidly as possible
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REDUCE
our indirect CO₂ emissions with our partners and suppliers
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REMOVE
CO₂ from the atmosphere
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Air France is accelerating its environmental transition. Find out more about our efforts to renew our fleet, develop the use of more sustainable aviation fuel, generalize eco-piloting, encourage the use of alternative transport and improve the footprint of our in-flight catering.
Fleet Renewal
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SAF
Sustainable aviation fuel
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Eco-piloting
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Combining
different modes of transport
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More responsible
catering
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Civil aviation emitted around 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ in 2019, or 2.4% of global emissions. The sector's emissions increased by 40% between 2005 and 2019, due to strong traffic growth, despite continuous improvements in the energy efficiency of aircraft, engines, and their operation. It is therefore urgent that air transport emissions start to decrease significantly, and Air France, whose emissions fell by 6% over the same period, is committed to playing a leading role in the sector's transition.
Aviation also has non-CO₂ impacts on the climate. High-altitude emissions of soot particles can promote the formation of condensation trails or high-level clouds, which are short-lived (a few days to a few weeks, whereas CO₂ lasts for a century) but have a potentially intense warming effect. The impact of these effects is still subject to a large degree of uncertainty. Since sustainable aviation fuels emit less soot than fossil fuels, they could, according to several studies (Kärcher, Mahrt, Marcolli 2021), significantly reduce contrail formation. According to the most recent findings, the international scientific community estimates total aviation emissions to represent 4.9% of the total human contribution to global warming. (D.Lee et.al 2020)
Decarbonising air transport requires substantial investments, aviation being one of the most expensive sectors to decarbonise (reducing 1 tonne of CO₂ in the sector costs, for example, more than 5 times as much as in the energy production or agriculture sectors). However, decarbonisation is not an option. It represents a huge challenge and calls for the mobilisation of all those involved: airlines, aircraft and engine manufacturers, fuel suppliers, public authorities, as well as our customers.
These additional costs will probably be reflected in the price of air tickets. We will certainly have to pay more to fly in the future, but this will make it possible to travel with fewer greenhouse gas emissions. We recognise that this will be an additional effort on the part of our customers, and we are committed to informing them in a transparent way about the amount and concrete impact of their contribution to our emission reductions.
Raising our employees' awareness of environmental issues, and in particular climate change, is a major part of our sustainable development strategy. It is even a prerequisite: to provide solutions to a problem, it is necessary to start by understanding it.
However, as in many companies, most employees have not received any training on these topics during their higher education. Therefore since 2020, we have been deploying the Climate Fresk internally, collective intelligence workshops that enable people to understand the climate challenges based on scientific reference data. In addition, we have created specific training modules on the environmental challenges facing the airline industry and have set up a network of environmental advisors in each of the company's departments. Experience has shown us that the more our employees are aware of these issues, the more they are willing and able to act in their various jobs. It is, therefore, an essential tool for internal mobilization and the promotion of our environmental actions throughout the company.
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