Latest news with #GlobalSolidarityLeviesTaskForce
Fast Company
8 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
France, Spain, and 6 other countries pledge to tax premium fliers
Flying comes with a lot of carbon emissions, but not all plane seats are environmentally equal. Seats that take up more space, like business or first class, come with a higher personal carbon footprint than the tightly packed seats in economy. Private jets, which have fewer than 20 seats total, are even more polluting per person. Now a coalition of eight countries has pledged to tax so-called premium fliers as a way to raise funds for climate action. The countries in the coalition are France, Kenya, Barbados, Spain, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Antigua and Barbuda—all members of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, a group launched at the COP28 climate conference in 2023. Municipalities have increasingly considered taxes on polluting activities, like private jet use or carbon emissions, as a way to make it less profitable to pollute, and to finance sustainable development initiatives. This initiative will also be supported by the European Commission. The tax on premium fliers will affect first- and business-class tickets as well as passengers on private jets, though it's not yet clear how high the tax will be (a recent unrelated study on private jet use found that taxing private jet fuels at $1.95 per gallon could generate $3 billion annually for decarbonization efforts). A study for the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force found that broad aviation taxes, like on commercial jet fuels and for frequent fliers as well as private jets, combined could generate 187 billion euros (upwards of $220 billion) per year. Countries have tried to take other steps to curb aviation emissions, like by banning short flights. In 2021, France announced it would ban any flight that could be replaced by a 180-minute train ride. France also recently released plans to drastically cut marine shipping emissions. Only a small percentage of the world is responsible for aviation emissions. Overall, aviation accounts for 2.5% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions (its warming effect is stronger, however; aviation has contributed around 4% to global temperature rise since preindustrial times). But that comes from a limited group: Only around 10% of the world's population flies most years. Just 1% of the world's population is responsible for more than half of all aviation emissions, a group that has been dubbed 'super emitters.' 'Flying is the most elite and polluting form of travel, so this is an important step towards ensuring that the binge users of this undertaxed sector are made to pay their fair share,' Rebecca Newsom of Greenpeace International said in a statement about the coalition's pledge. 'With the cost of climate impacts surging in countries least responsible for the crisis, bold, cooperative action that makes polluters pay is not just fair—it's essential.' But Newsom noted that the task force, and other rich countries, should go even further. 'The obvious next step is to hold oil and gas corporations to account,' she said, by committing to 'higher taxes on fossil fuel profits and extraction by COP30.'
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Spain and France go after mega-rich in huge changes to air travel rules
France and Spain are among a group of countries that have pledged to tax premium flying and private jets. In a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development, the European nations along with Kenya and Barbados have committed to upping the levy. It is not yet known how much the levy would be, with details of how the mechanism would work expected at the COP30 climate summit this November. However, in a report published on June 19, the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force estimated that these measures could 'generate substantial revenues' of up to €187 billion (£160 billion). Changes in the national legislation of the countries involved is planned as soon as next year, Climate Home News reports. Tensions erupt at UK's most exclusive billionaire's private jet fair The initiative was launched at the UN Finance for Development summit in Seville, Spain. Representatives from governments, financial institutions, and civil society are attempting to determine how to channel more money towards efforts to tackle climate change, among other issues. The coalition's goal is 'to increase the number of countries applying taxes on airline tickets, including for luxury travel, and to tax private jets based on best practices,' the French Élysée's said in a statement. Sierra Leone, Benin, Antigua and Barbuda and Somalia, also backed the pledge, which will get technical support from the European Commission, the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force said in a separate statement. Rebecca Newsom of Greenpeace told Reuters that the move was "an important step towards ensuring that the binge users of this undertaxed sector are made to pay their fair share". "Flying is the most elitist and polluting form of travel, so this is an important step toward ensuring heavy users of this undertaxed sector pay their fair share," she said. The coalition on premium flying levies was born out of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, which launched in 2023. It has been looking for ways to raise new sources of finance for climate and development from sectors that contribute disproportionately to global carbon emissions, or those that are undertaxed, such as aviation, fossil fuels or financial transactions. Friederike Röder, director of the task force's secretariat, told Climate Home that targeting aviation first is a 'very pragmatic' choice. 'It's something that can be put in place quite quickly, it makes sense economically speaking from a tax justice and climate perspective, and can generate a significant sum,' she said. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the coalition would 'work toward a greater contribution from the aviation sector' to improve 'climate resilience'. Earlier this year, tensions flared at an ultra-luxury private jet fair when protesters unfurled banners and chanted for the abolition of billionaires. Overall private aviation emissions increased by 46% between 2019-2023, with industry expectations of continued strong growth, according to one Nature journal Communications Earth & Environment study. It also found that most of these small planes spew more heat-trapping carbon dioxide in about two hours of flying than the average person does in about a year. In 2023, roughly a quarter million of the super wealthy, who were worth a total of $31 trillion, emitted 17.2 million tons (15.6 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide flying in private jets. That's about the same amount as the overall yearly emissions of the 67 million people who live in Tanzania. Stefan Gossling, a transportation researcher at the business school of Sweden's Linnaeus University, said the issue wasn't so much the emissions, which remain a small part of those produced globally, but the lack of fairness. 'The damage is done by those with a lot of money and the cost is borne by those with very little money,' Gossling said. A separate report by Oxfam claimed that billionaires emit more carbon pollution in 90 minutes than the average person does in a lifetime.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Alliance Of Climate Civil Society Organisations Rally In Seville For Global Levies To Make Polluters Pay
30 June, Seville, Spain — A global coalition of civil society leaders, including Global Citizen, the Glasgow Action Team and Greenpeace International, have rallied this morning outside the FIBES Conference Center in Seville, where world leaders gather for the 4th UN International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Their message: No more free riders. It's time for polluters and the ultra-rich to pay their fair share. The rally centered around a bold new demand for Solidarity Levies—international taxes on fossil fuels, aviation, shipping, financial transactions, and billionaires—to fund climate resilience and equitable development in countries most affected by climate change. The action accompanies an open letter signed by more than 47 NGOs – representing 231 organisations – underscoring the broad and diverse backing for the call to Make Polluters Pay. The rally centered around a large banner declaring 'Make Polluters Pay: Solidarity Levies Now,' alongside placards and powerful street visuals, including Spanish-inspired traffic signs to highlight the responsibility of highly polluting sectors. The coalition is urging world leaders at FFD4 to adopt taxes and fines on the world's most polluting industries for fueling storms, floods, heat waves, drought and wildfires, as well as other climate related disasters. World governments are also encouraged to join the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, led by Barbados, France and Kenya, and backed by governments and institutions like the UN, IMF, and African Union. The goal: to raise much needed revenue to fight against climate change and support development and nature through international levies that reflect the responsibility of polluters and elites. 'The richest individuals and dirtiest industries are profiting while the planet burns,' said Andrew Nazdin, Director of the Glasgow Actions Team. 'Solidarity levies are not only fair — they're necessary for a liveable future.' 'We must hold oil and gas corporations to account for the enormous damage they cause,' said Rebecca Newsom, Global Political Lead for Greenpeace's Stop Drilling, Start Paying campaign. 'As fossil fuel barons rake in obscene profits, and people are battered with increasingly violent floods, storms and wildfires, it's no surprise that 8 out of 10 people support making them pay. Members of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force and rich countries around the world should act upon this enormous public mandate: commit to higher taxes on fossil fuel profits and extraction by COP30, while ensuring that those being hit hardest by the climate crisis around the world benefit most from the revenues.' 'Right now, world leaders face a clear choice: will they do what's fair and necessary?' said Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder of Global Citizen. 'Citizens across major economies — from the U.S. to the EU to Brazil — are on board. They want action to fix the climate crisis and support the communities being hit the hardest. The ask is simple: those most responsible for the damage should help pay for the solutions. Over 55,000 global citizens have already backed this call. It's not about politics — it's about fairness, and securing a better future for all of us.' Louise Hutchins, from Make Polluters Pay Coalition said, 'If we're serious about ending the debt crisis in the Global South and halting climate breakdown, we need a global financial system that holds those driving the crisis to account - starting by making the big polluters pay. For 50 years, oil and gas giants have raked in $1 trillion a year while driving devastating climate damage. The emissions of the richest 1% is more than that of half of the world combined. Success at this summit means ending this grotesque state of affairs.' The rally follows a march of thousands across the streets of Seville on Sunday night and is part of a broader week of action at the FfD4, where campaigners are calling for debt cancellation, progressive global taxation, and a finance system that puts people and the planet first. The Vatican's advocacy arm bolstered these messages with a live mural, installed in the heart of Seville, calling for a solution to debt injustice. Campaigners are demanding urgent steps to dismantle illegitimate debt burdens, establish a UN-based framework for debt resolution, and stop the influence of powerful nations and institutions that continue to impose economic domination over the Global South.
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
France, Spain, others agree to tax premium flyers, private jets
The initiative gains backing from France, Kenya, Spain, Barbados, Sierra Leone, Benin and Somalia. (AP pic) SEVILLE : A group of countries including France, Kenya, Spain and Barbados pledged on Monday to tax premium-class flying and private jets in a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development. As many richer nations scale back official development aid for countries even as extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, some are looking to find new sources of finance, including by taxing polluting industries. The announcement on the opening day of a UN development summit in Seville, Spain, was one of the first to emerge from the 'Sevilla Platform for Action' that aims to deliver on the renewed global financing framework agreed upon ahead of the event. 'The aim is to help improve green taxation and foster international solidarity by promoting more progressive and harmonised tax systems,' the office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a statement. The initiative, which was co-signed by Sierra Leone, Benin and Somalia, will get technical support from the European Commission, it added. All are members of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, launched in November 2023 to explore new forms of taxation that could help support developing countries' efforts to decarbonise and protect themselves against the impacts of climate change. As well as an aviation tax, which could raise billions of dollars, the task force said in a recent report that other sectors that could potentially be taxed more include shipping, oil and gas, cryptocurrencies and the super-rich. Rebecca Newsom of the environmentalist group Greenpeace called the move 'an important step towards ensuring that the binge users of this undertaxed sector are made to pay their fair share'. She added that the 'obvious' next step was to hold oil and gas corporations to account.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
France, Spain, others agree to tax premium flyers, private jets
SEVILLE, Spain - A group of countries including France, Kenya, Spain and Barbados pledged on Monday to tax premium-class flying and private jets in a bid to raise funds for climate action and sustainable development. As many richer nations scale back official development aid for countries even as extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, some are looking to find new sources of finance, including by taxing polluting industries. The announcement on the opening day of a U.N. development summit in Seville, Spain, was one of the first to emerge from the "Sevilla Platform for Action" that aims to deliver on the renewed global financing framework agreed ahead of the event. "The aim is to help improve green taxation and foster international solidarity by promoting more progressive and harmonised tax systems," the office of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a statement. The initiative, which was co-signed by Sierra Leone, Benin and Somalia, will get technical support from the European Commission, it added. All are members of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, launched in November 2023 to explore new forms of taxation that could help support developing countries' efforts to decarbonise and protect themselves against the impacts of climate change. As well as an aviation tax, which could raise billions of dollars, the task force said in a recent report that other sectors that could potentially be taxed more include shipping, oil and gas, cryptocurrencies and the super-rich. Rebecca Newsom of environmentalist group Greenpeace called the move "an important step towards ensuring that the binge users of this undertaxed sector are made to pay their fair share". She added that the "obvious" next step was to hold oil and gas corporations to account. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
