This Tuesday, a press conference was held to present the march that will take place on October 3rd as part of national campaigns launched by Alternatiba, ANV-COP21, and also by Greenpeace regarding aviation. Several associations and collectives were present, including Alternatiba, ANV-Cop21, Citizens for Climate, Citizen Collective 06, and Greenpeace.
On Saturday, October 3rd, a national march will take place. In Nice, the departure will be at 10 a.m. from Nikaia towards Nice airport. “This is a peaceful and family-friendly march. We even invite participants to dress up as birds,” noted Hélène Boccaccio from the Citizens for Climate group. Here, the various associations organizing the event (Citizens for Climate Nice, Alternatiba 06, ANV COP21 Nice, Citizen Collective 06, ATTAC Nice, with the support of Greenpeace Nice, Terre bleu, and CAPRE06) are calling to stay “grounded.”
A call for the transition of the aviation sector
Through this march, the organizations are demanding “a transition in the aviation sector so that it aligns with upcoming climate and social challenges.” This transition must involve reducing air traffic. “We are not asking for the complete elimination of the sector, but a reduction,” explains Martin Legendre, a member of Greenpeace.
The groups also reminded that “air traffic accounts for 7% of France’s carbon footprint,” according to estimates by BL Evolution. The article “Let’s March to Reduce Air Traffic” published on September 16th on the Libération website was also mentioned. “For several decades, air traffic has doubled every fifteen years, and projects for the construction of new airport infrastructures are multiplying around the world,” explains Libération in its article. For example, locally, “the Nice airport extension project will result in a 50% increase in passengers by 2030, totaling 21.6 million annual passengers.”
For the various collectives and associations, to advance and get back “grounded,” it is necessary to:
- End all airport expansions, which lead to increased traffic.
- Eliminate flights that can be completed in less than five hours by train.
- And stop financial incentives that encourage people to fly.
