Pirate's Cove

How soon till “rich” means “everyone”?

Eight-country coalition aims to tax luxury air travel

Countries including France, Kenya, Barbados and Spain on Monday launched a coalition to push for taxes on wealthy air passengers to help poorer nations respond to climate change, the French presidency said.

The coalition, which also brings together Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone and Antigua and Barbuda, said it would work to increase the number of countries taxing plane tickets, including business-class travel, and private jets.

The air industry is a major source of the polluting emissions that contribute to global warming, which inflicts its worst impacts on vulnerable developing countries that are least responsible.

Ahead of November’s UN climate summit in Brazil, the French presidency said in a statement the group would work on making the aviation sector contribute more to funding climate adaptation.

Are people dying to fly to the failed state of Somalia? Benin? Can anyone locate it on a map without doing a web search (it’s a tiny nation on Africa’s SW coast, not exactly somewhere people are going)? Sierra Leone has a State Department travel advisory, the same as with Somalia and Benin. Barbados, Barbuda, and Antigua depend on tourists coming in on fossil fueled flights. France? Well, remember that France bannedshort-haul flights of under 2 hours, except for private jets.

Hey, I wonder if the taxes apply to the government employees and elected officials who fly upper class and on private jets?

France, Kenya and Barbados have previously lobbied for such “solidarity levies” to raise money for climate action, suggesting taxes on shipping, fossil fuels, plastic and cryptocurrency.

The group has suggested levies on flying could raise up to 187 billion euros ($220 billion) if they were applied across the board.

See, they want the taxes on all passengers.