French economist Thomas Piketty has suggested a high tax on premium air travel, suggesting: “A €180 levy on business class tickets and €20 on economy class would raise the estimated €150 billion a year needed for climate adaptation.”
Across the world, about 10% of people are responsible for 45% of global CO2 emissions, and increasingly some of the high emitters are a privileged elite in emerging economies. One idea proposed in the UK is a “frequent flyer” levy, where anyone’s first flight is tax free, but the tax shoots up with each successive flight.
- Read full story on Airportwatch here
- Download a New Economics Foundation report on viability of a “Frequent Flyer Levy”
- Check out this recent New Economics Foundation podcast on the environmental costs of flying
