France and Spain spearhead initiatives to impose levies on personal aircrafts
A coalition of eight countries, including France, Spain, Kenya, Barbados, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Antigua and Barbuda, has formed with the aim of improving the mobilization of national revenues in developing countries and supporting international solidarity, particularly in the context of adapting to climate change.
The coalition, which was launched publicly during the United Nations' Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville, Spain in mid-2025, is part of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force under the Pact for Prosperity, People and Planet (4P) at COP28. The task force was created with the goal of channeling revenue from aviation levies into climate adaptation and resilience efforts, especially in vulnerable developing countries.
The coalition's focus is on taxing private jets and luxury air travel, such as first- and business-class tickets. Estimates suggest that the global implementation of such levies on premium air travel and private jet kerosene could raise over €78 billion annually, while taxing the aviation sector broadly, including business-class tickets and private jets, could generate up to €187 billion globally. These revenues would be dedicated to funding climate action and development in the poorest regions.
The coalition emphasizes taxing luxury air travel as a way to make those contributing the most emissions pay their fair share, helping finance climate justice and sustainable infrastructure development in vulnerable countries. The working group's activities are supported by Greenpeace, as per the statement from Rebecca Newsom, head of Greenpeace's "Stop Drilling, Start Paying" campaign.
France already levies an 'eco tax' on airline tickets, with higher rates for first class tickets and private jets. The coalition invites more countries to join a harmonized global framework ahead of COP30 in Brazil. Greenpeace has welcomed the coalition's announcement and urged all countries to join and implement the commitments made by this coalition in time for COP30.
The coalition's goal is also to tighten up taxation of the aviation sector and improve "climate resilience". The working group's report, which was published on June 19th, estimates that these measures could generate substantial revenues of up to €187 billion. The coalition aims to increase the number of countries applying taxes on airline tickets, including for luxury travel, as part of its efforts to generate substantial revenues.
The European Commission supports this working group, and the coalition's goal is also to tax private jets based on best practices. The working group's focus is on polluting sectors such as fossil fuels and aviation. The coalition aims to make a significant step towards aligning aviation emissions with climate finance goals by creating a dedicated revenue stream from luxury air travel.
- The coalition, comprising France, Spain, Kenya, Barbados, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Antigua and Barbuda, is working towards improving taxation of luxury air travel, such as private jets and first-class tickets, as part of their efforts to garner revenues for climate action and development in the poorest regions.
- The aspiration of the coalition is to establish a unified global framework for taxing luxury air travel, inviting more countries to adopt such practices in line with the coalition's goals ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
- Greenpeace supports the activities of the coalition, encouraging all countries to join and implement the commitments made by the coalition, specifically the introduction of eco taxes on airline tickets, including luxury travel, to generate substantial revenues.
- The coalition's objective is to tighten up taxation of the aviation sector and increase the number of countries applying taxes on airline tickets, while focusing on polluting sectors such as fossil fuels and aviation, to create a dedicated revenue stream from luxury air travel that could help align aviation emissions with climate finance goals.
- In the context of policy-and-legislation and finance, the coalition's actions in supporting international solidarity, taxing private jets, and directing revenues to climate-change mitigation and environmental-science initiatives have drawn attention in the general-news and business sectors, sparking discussions on the potential impact of these strategies on climate-change adaption and the global economy.
