Coalition To Tax Luxury Flyers For Climate Action

An eight-country team, including France, Spain, Kenya, Barbados, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Antigua & Barbuda, has initiated a radical international effort to tax private jet use and luxury air travel in an unprecedented attempt to fund climate resilience, sustainable development, and fair transitions. It was made official during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain, and is an important step towards elevating aviation to the standards of international climate finance targets.

The suggested levies, on first-class and business tickets and kerosene consumed by private planes, would raise over €78 billion per year if imposed across the board, a report commissioned by the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force said. The project is part of the Seville Platform for Action (SPA) and takes up where the activities of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, established under the Pact for Prosperity, People and Planet (4P) at COP28, left off.

In a speech at the event, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the need for global membership in the plan. "We need those who are helped by globalization to give more to pay for it," he said, inviting other nations to join the plan. Macron referred to the equity of the plan, saying that richest tourists—who contribute proportionally to flying emissions—owe their share of combat climate change.

The 2.5% of energy-related CO₂ emissions from the aviation industry are still overwhelmingly tax-free. International air kerosene is exempt from fuel tax as well, and the G20 average carbon price for air fuel in 2021 was only €9 per tonne of CO₂, compared to other types of fuel like diesel (€79) and gasoline (€68). The proposed shift aims to close this loophole and direct money into world public goods.

Friederike Röder, head of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force Secretariat, said the flight tax was "pragmatic and scalable." The economic and environmental case for taxing luxury flights is strong from both the perspectives of tax justice as well as climate finance, she said. According to the task force data, premium class air travel taxes could produce as much as €37 billion ($43.7 billion) annually, while another €41 billion ($48.5 billion) could be derived from taxing private jet fuel.

The coalition plans to use this formula globally, especially to more nations with larger luxury tourist populations. It also aims to harmonize and enlarge existing levies, with progressivity to ensure the wealthy pay more. Proceeds from these charges will be directed towards activities in favor of climate resilience, green infrastructure, and equitable transitions for developing nations. The French presidency released a report indicating that funds raised will be invested, either partially or completely, into these causes.

Besides its climate advantages, the alliance views the policy as a means of increasing low-income countries' domestic revenue mobilization and promoting global solidarity. The move aligns with processes of negotiations taking place under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as well as in compliance with the Chicago ConAn eight-country team, including France, Spain, Kenya, Barbados, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Antigua & Barbuda, has initiated a radical international effort to tax private jet use and luxury air travel in an unprecedented attempt to fund climate resilience, sustainable development, and fair transitions. It was made official during the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain, and is an important step towards elevating aviation to the standards of international climate finance targets.

The suggested levies, on first-class and business tickets and kerosene consumed by private planes, would raise over €78 billion per year if imposed across the board, a report commissioned by the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force said. The project is part of the Seville Platform for Action (SPA) and takes up where the activities of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, established under the Pact for Prosperity, People and Planet (4P) at COP28, left off.

In a speech at the event, French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized the need for global membership in the plan. "We need those who are helped by globalization to give more to pay for it," he said, inviting other nations to join the plan. Macron referred to the equity of the plan, saying that richest tourists—who contribute proportionally to flying emissions—owe their share of combat climate change.

The 2.5% of energy-related CO₂ emissions from the aviation industry are still overwhelmingly tax-free. International air kerosene is exempt from fuel tax as well, and the G20 average carbon price for air fuel in 2021 was only €9 per tonne of CO₂, compared to other types of fuel like diesel (€79) and gasoline (€68). The proposed shift aims to close this loophole and direct money into world public goods.

Friederike Röder, head of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force Secretariat, said the flight tax was "pragmatic and scalable." The economic and environmental case for taxing luxury flights is strong from both the perspectives of tax justice as well as climate finance, she said. According to the task force data, premium class air travel taxes could produce as much as €37 billion ($43.7 billion) annually, while another €41 billion ($48.5 billion) could be derived from taxing private jet fuel.

The coalition plans to use this formula globally, especially to more nations with larger luxury tourist populations. It also aims to harmonize and enlarge existing levies, with progressivity to ensure the wealthy pay more. Proceeds from these charges will be directed towards activities in favor of climate resilience, green infrastructure, and equitable transitions for developing nations. The French presidency released a report indicating that funds raised will be invested, either partially or completely, into these causes.

Besides its climate advantages, the alliance views the policy as a means of increasing low-income countries' domestic revenue mobilization and promoting global solidarity. The move aligns with processes of negotiations taking place under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as well as in compliance with the Chicago Convention. Röder expounded that imposing solidarity taxes on global public goods would be a powerful signal and enhance the international climate finance framework.

The partnership will also make efforts to complete its policy framework and provide the required national legislation well ahead of the COP30 international climate conference in 2026 in Belém, Brazil. Public consultation will be used to develop the standards of disbursement of the funds so that domestic and international stakeholders are assured of transparency and participation.

It is not the first instance that solidarity levies have worked. France and a number of other countries already have raised more than $2 billion with a similar instrument to fund Unitaid, a global agency that treats HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in the developing world. This new proposal draws inspiration from the model but greatly expands its scope and ambition.

The Brazilian government will also be likely to seek solidarity levies under its "Baku-to-Belém" initiative, a wider drive to raise $1.3 trillion in climate investment each year by 2035. This comes after the relatively subdued $300 billion advanced economy proposal at COP29.

Röder emphasized that solidarity levies are a useful tool but must not be employed by richer economies as a means of getting out of their current climate obligations. "They can be an important piece of the jigsaw," she added, "but not as a means of assisting the developed economies in wriggling out of their obligations.".

With pressure increasing internationally to discover new, fair, and debt-free sources of climate funds, the proposed levies on high-emitting fliers may turn out to be a turning point. By reorienting the burden of climate action off of those who can least pay it and onto those most able to bear it, the coalition is on the brink of building a more equitable and improved climate response.vention. Röder expounded that imposing solidarity taxes on global public goods would be a powerful signal and enhance the international climate finance framework.

The partnership will also make efforts to complete its policy framework and provide the required national legislation well ahead of the COP30 international climate conference in 2026 in Belém, Brazil. Public consultation will be used to develop the standards of disbursement of the funds so that domestic and international stakeholders are assured of transparency and participation.

It is not the first instance that solidarity levies have worked. France and a number of other countries already have raised more than $2 billion with a similar instrument to fund Unitaid, a global agency that treats HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria in the developing world. This new proposal draws inspiration from the model but greatly expands its scope and ambition.

The Brazilian government will also be likely to seek solidarity levies under its "Baku-to-Belém" initiative, a wider drive to raise $1.3 trillion in climate investment each year by 2035. This comes after the relatively subdued $300 billion advanced economy proposal at COP29.

Röder emphasized that solidarity levies are a useful tool but must not be employed by richer economies as a means of getting out of their current climate obligations. "They can be an important piece of the jigsaw," she added, "but not as a means of assisting the developed economies in wriggling out of their obligations.".

With pressure increasing internationally to discover new, fair, and debt-free sources of climate funds, the proposed levies on high-emitting fliers may turn out to be a turning point. By reorienting the burden of climate action off of those who can least pay it and onto those most able to bear it, the coalition is on the brink of building a more equitable and improved climate response.