The Climate Challenge: What Role Postal Operators Are Going to and Could Do to Mitigate It?

As the world is facing an unseen health crisis leading to an economic crisis, global warming is one of the major threats to society and the economy that also requires strong actions, now. Limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius requires reductions of 45 percent in CO₂ emissions by 2030, and reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 worldwide. The transition to a low-carbon economy implies a massive transformation of the economy. If undeniably part of the solution lies in true carbon pricing as demonstrated by economic theory, the difficulties to reach a coordinated agreement and to set the right carbon price call for instant civic actions taken by all economic agents. Insights into the challenges but also the opportunities faced by postal operators as logisticians on the first- and last-mile and as actors who have a real impact on the territories in which they are involved through their commercial activities but also through the services of general interest they provide, are given in this chapter. Many are alrealdy carbon-neutral and aim to become carbon-positive. To reach this objective, well-designed policies need to support R&D and investments in new technologies and to induce people to change their habits towards more sustainable lifestyles. A pre-requisite for adopting new habits is to have a clear information on the impact of our behavior and the alternatives we have to do better for the planet.