To enhance EU competitiveness and foster the transition to sustainability, the Draghi Report underscores the necessity of enhanced policy coordination across EU Member States and European institutions. This paper advocates a systemic approach that integrates subnational governance to expedite sustainability transitions, applying the concept of climate neutrality to the European aviation system.\nIn 2023, Europe’s top 40 airports handled 10.2 million flights and 1.19 billion passengers, driving mobility, tourism, and economic growth. However, aviation is classified by the IPCC as a ‘hard-to-abate’ sector, contributing 2% of global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022, with a total warming impact 2.6 times that of CO2 alone. With an expected annual passenger increase of 4.7%, emissions could triple in coming decades, threatening net-zero goals by 2050.\nFollowing a systematic literature review on sustainable aviation, policy initiatives at European, national, and regional levels are mapped and classified according to transition intervention points. Gaps and barriers are identified, and a place-based dimension of the sociotechnical transition is introduced using smart specialisation strategies. The paper argues that effective sustainability transition pathways require a deep understanding of problems and solutions from the perspective of those directly affected, suggesting a place-based approach to align territorial policies with European initiatives.\nThe conclusions emphasize the need for systemic, transformative, and place-based policies to achieve aviation climate neutrality. Coordinating efforts across local, regional, national, and European levels is vital. The paper illustrates that considering place-based dimensions early in EU policies can enhance sustainability transitions for competitiveness.
Authors
SILLERO ILLANES Carmen, GALLARDO COBOS Rosa, MONCADA PATERNO' CASTELLO Pietro, HAEGEMAN Karel Herman
- Pages
- 46
- Published in
- Belgium
- Rights Holder
- https://ec.europa.eu/info/legal-notice_en#copyright-notice
Table of Contents
- 1 Introduction 9
- 2 Setting the scene of the European aviation sociotechnical system 11
- 3 Research questions and methods 12
- 4 Systematic literature review 13
- 4.1 Carbon intensity 14
- 4.2 Energy intensity 15
- 4.3 Demand 15
- 5 Multilevel perspective of the sociotechnical transition to sustainability in aviation 17
- 6 Review of interventions for the sustainability transition in aviation policies 20
- 6.1 Regulation 22
- 6.2 Aviation research infrastructures 22
- 6.3 Airports and energy infrastructures 22
- 6.4 Quality of investment 23
- 6.5 Taxation on brown technology and subsidies for green technology 24
- 6.6 Offsetting 24
- 6.7 Alternatives to flying 25
- 6.8 Policies and strategies implemented after the 28th Conference of the Parties 25
- 6.9 Gaps and barriers 25
- 7 Place-based approach to European aviation: Analysis of the S3 (2021–2027) 27
- 8 Elements of a systemic and place-based transition pathway in regions specialised in aviation 29
- 9 Conclusions 31
- References 32
- List of abbreviations and definitions 41
- List of figures 43
- List of tables 44
