Climate & environment

Put an air tax on those who fly the most
New Weather Institute: The richest fly ten times as much as ordinary people

This is a debate article. It is the writer who stands for the opinions expressed in the text, not Aftonbladet.

Published 2024-10-17 06.00

Together with seven other organisations, we propose a European aviation tax that targets those who fly the most, but spares those who fly infrequently, write the debaters. Photo: Getty

DEBATE

DEBATE. With the autumn holidays now approaching, many people want to take the family on a trip. For most people, long flights are out of the question for financial or climatic reasons.

But for the richest it is no obstacle. They fly on average ten times as much as ordinary people and are responsible for most of aviation's climate impact. Together whit seven other organisations, we are proposing a European aviation tax that targets those who fly the most, but spares those who fly infrequently.

While the Swedish government invests billions in aviation, independent experts believe that flying needs to quickly decrease by 45 percent in Europe. Neither biofuels, hydrogen nor electric aircraft can change that.

The most efficient and fair way to achieve such a reduction is for those who fly the most to drastically reduce their overconsumption of flights.

It is high time we talk about the lifestyle of the rich and climate impact. And their flying.

The climate impact of flying is hugely unevenly distributed.  One percent of the world's population accounts for half of the trips, while 80 percent have never set foot on a plane. In Western Europe, 70 percent of Västeuropa flyger 70 procent of households whih the lowest income almost never fly.

In Sweden, the richest households fly ten times more than the average. Data from Statistics Sweden show that flying in the most high-consuming parts of Östermalm corresponds to approximately five round trips to New York per year.

The emissions from the trips were 1,5 times greater than the total emissions of the average Swede.

 The emissions from the trips were 1.5 times greater than the total emissions of the average Swede.

The residents of Djursholm, Lidingö, and Särö did not come far behind, while the flying of those living in Stockholm's western suburbs Rinkeby, Tensta and Husby was small. More than one in two people in these areas never flew.

A millionaires' tax on flying is a quick way to reduce emissions from European aviation

The Wallenberg family, one of Sweden's wealthiest, flew 847 times with their private planes in 2019-2021, a flight almost every day. The emissions were more than what a thousand Swedes cause in total in a year.

Although many of us need to fly less, this is especially true for those who fly the most. Our data shows that each of us can take one long-haul flight, or there short flight, per person by the year 2050 to stay within the global climate targets.

In the report A Frequent Flying Levy in Europe, We propose a tax that increases in five steps depending on how often a person flies during a twelve-month period. 

The tax is supplemented by a supplement if the journey is more than three hours long and a higher fee if it is longer. An additional fee is charged if the flight takes place in luxury class. Domestic journeys that mean a time saving of at least four hours compared to public transport are exempt from tax.

Our proposal reduces aviation CO2 emissions in the EU by 21 percent. At the same time, the effect on most Swedes is small. Approximately 75 percent of the reduction occurs through reduced flying by people who would otherwise have made at least three round trips per year.

For those who fly domestically  infrequently and on short distances, this proposal will be cheaper  than the previous Swedish flight tax: zero kroner compared to the previous 76 kroner per one-way trip. For all other categories it will be more expensive.

Our goal is for the proposal to be implemented at EU level, but as it will be difficult to quickly reach agreement among the member states, the tax should first be introduced by member states. There is nothing to prevent individual countries from going ahead and implementing the tax nationally.

A millionaires' tax on flying is a quick way to reduce emissions from European aviation. At the same time, it provides significant revenue to speed up global climate change and the upgrading and development  of Europe's railways.

Gunnar  Lind, New Weather Institute 

Anna Jonsson, New Weather Institute 

Other organizations behind the proposal: New Economics Foundation, Possible, Stay Grounded Network (UK), Ecologistas en Acción (Spain), Bond Beter Leefmilieu (Belgium), 2DegreeCelsius (Romania) and Rester sur Terre (France).