Environment

“Today as in the past, the aeronautical and space sectors inspire dreams. They symbolize the connections between people and an open gateway to the world. Our industry is preparing for the future through unprecedented efforts in research and innovation and will rise to challenges such as observing the Earth from space and adapting air transport to climate change.”

Éric Trappier, President of GIFAS

Half of the 50 climate-relevant variables are measured from space. We use them to track changes in different components of the Earth’s system: the atmosphere, oceans, ice, land and more. 

Through the ICAO, the UN specialized Agency for civil aviation, the aviation sector became the first to make a shared international commitment to reducing its climate footprint. This push for carbon-neutral growth in air transport from 2020 relies on technological and operational progress, the widespread use of sustainable alternative fuels, and the adoption of a carbon offset scheme for aviation beginning in 2021. 

To make air travel sustainable, as defined by the Paris agreements, worldwide CO 2 emissions from the aviation sector must drop to half of their 2005 levels by 2050. Starting now, a tremendous R&D effort is necessary to reach this goal, and a combination of solutions enter into play (hybridization/electrification, innovative technology for motors and configurations, decarbonized fuels that will eventually include hydrogen,

etc.).

Above and beyond designing innovative new products, the aerospace sector strives to reduce its environmental impact, whether by improving industrial sites and processes or by optimizing products’ entire life cycle (raw materials, substances, energy, water, waste, etc.). 

The GIFAS Environment and Sustainable Development Committee handles numerous and varied topics such as the impact of regulations (REACh, environmental impact assessment for facilities, …), the circular economy, the energy transition, climate adaptation, eco-design, environmental company reporting, and biodiversity.