A “jet-setter” tax on Europe’s frequent flyers could slow global heating and raise €64bn ($70bn) a year at no extra cost to most people, says a new study.
Carbon pollution pumped out of planes could fall by a fifth if people were made to pay more for each extra flight they take beyond the first return trip, according to analysis from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) and its partners. Just over half the benefits in a given year would come from the 5 percent of people who fly the most, whilst almost three quarters of people would escape fees by flying once or not at all.
This efficiently targeted frequent-flyer levy would raise cash that could be invested in numerous different eco-friendly alternatives, such as trains and buses, whilst simultaneously reducing “excessive” flights for the wealthiest, said Magdalena Heuwieser from the campaign group Stay Grounded, which co-wrote the report. “Right now, it doesn’t matter whether you’re flying to visit your family for the first time in years or taking a 10th annual flight to your luxury house on the coast – you’ll be paying the same tax for that flight.”
The study proposes that the levy would start at zero for the first return flight in 12 months and rise by €100 ($108) for each return trip, with surcharges for longer distances and first class travel.
“Those of us who fly more than one or two times a year should recognise that we are a very small subset of the world’s population - and consuming the climate budget at the stake of others,” said Sola Zhang, an aviation expert at the International Council on Clean Transportation. “Flying less or shifting modes is obviously the most effective solution,” she said. “For flights that are still taken, supporting the transition to zero-emission aviation is the second best option.”