The document is based on the first year’s work of the aforementioned commission as a whole.
Detlef Mueller-Wiesner, Gérard Théron, Xavier Fron and Jean-Louis Montel (AAE members) Edouard Freund and Bernd Kaercher (outside participants in the commission) as well as Daniel Iracane (Académie des Technologies) made important contributions to this document and are warmly thanked.
Building upon studies on the future of air transport carried out for over ten years by the Air and Space Academy (AAE) and work accomplished by its recently formed “Energy and environment” commission in the past year, and in parallel with preparation of a formal AAE Dossier planned for late 2023, several members of the commission have taken up the pen in order to express an independent vision, supported by the knowledge of some sixty European experts and in cooperation with a number of organizations, learned societies and industrial players.
This document examines the issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve the goal of “Acting for sustainable, climate-neutral air transport” by 2050.
Our analysis today is that this goal is achievable but requires a long-term vision and the audacity to rapidly engage substantial new investment in the fields of energy.
These are just a couple of links in a long chain of actions that will only succeed if our European and global societies are capable of such a vision and willing to make the joint efforts and perhaps sacrifices that are required. Within this framework, energy sovereignty could be a crucial element.
Air transport has an active role to play in this context.