A progressive decline in world oil production, following a peak around 2010-2030, will result in an oil shortage and rising prices in the near future. Moreover, taxes on carbon emissions will push costs up even further. The future development of air transport will be radically affected, all the more acutely since for the moment no alternative is available to the use of kerosene produced from oil or synthetically.

The Air and Space Academy, in collaboration with the Association Aéronautique et Astronautique de France and the Académie des Technologies, held an international conference in 2006 to take stock of the situation and gauge the impact on air transport, product design and the future of civil aircraft manufacturing.

The present dossier provides an overview of talks and the main conclusions of the colloquium and formulates recommendations.