Aviation has a significant negative impact on our ability to achieve the Paris target of limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Citizens are increasingly willing to adopt individual behaviour change and push for systemic changes that assist in reaching these goals. However, policymakers and society at large remain hesitant to impose any meaningful restrictions or limitations on air travel.
The Funders for Sustainable Living (F4SL) Network meeting for April covered this topic through the lens of overconsumption, with the aim of highlighting success stories and learnings. What are current efforts to address overconsumption in the aviation industry and what else could be possible? What do caps and limits look like in Europe, and abroad? Who is already working in this space?
Discussion points included successful flight caps at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the implementation of a CO2 ceiling in the Netherlands, and progress on a citizen-led airport closure campaign in Santa Monica, California.
In this context, speakers underlined the need to engage with different stakeholder groups in the pursuit of climate targets.
The mobilisation of civil society organisations and engaged citizens can often be successful in demanding change, as shown by Stay Grounded, a network that calls for caps and limits in the aviation sector and aims to raise awareness of the joint problems of climate and health.
Collaboration with policy makers was also a focus in the workshop, with speakers reporting on reframing aviation impacts in the Netherlands to shift the political landscape.
The mobilisation of citizens and engagement with systems is similarly reflected in the approach of the EU 1.5° Lifestyles project. Participatory work is a key pillar of the EU 1.5° Lifestyles project, with citizens from 5 European countries sharing their perceptions, motivations and barriers to implementing sustainable lifestyle options in their daily lives.
The aviation sector continues to exist outside of planetary boundaries, and significant change will be needed to achieve the EU 1.5° target. But hope is critical, and sharing successful case studies builds momentum as we strive toward our climate targets.
An extended version of this blog post was also posted on the Hot or Cool website.
More information is available from the Funders for Sustainable Living.