Nine EU countries want a tax on civil aviation for its CO ₂ emissions

A group of nine European Union countries have approved a joint statement calling on the European Commission to develop a tax on civil aviation, a sector responsible for 2.5% of global _CO2 emissions. The text is signed by France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden and Bulgaria.

The document was approved last Thursday on the margins of the meeting of ministers of Economy and Finance of the eurozone (Eurogroup). Spain has chosen not to join this statement. The Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, said months ago that it is an “interesting” idea but asked for “prudence” because of the negative consequences it can have on air transport.

The signatory capitals stress in the declaration that the impact of this sector on the environment cannot be underestimated and, compared to other means of transport, air transport “has not contributed enough”. Specifically, they criticize that the price of airline tickets for international flights “does not faithfully reflect the average cost of _CO2 emissions and negative externalities.”

“We believe that better coordination of pollution enforcement would allow for a fairer application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle. To ensure effective measures and fair competition for all Member States, we are convinced that coordination at European level is necessary.”

Consequently, they call on the next European Commission led by Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen to push the debate on developing a European aviation tax, “for example through targeted fiscal measures or similar policies.”

However, they call for account in this debate of existing national systems, the competitiveness of the sectors concerned, geographical distribution and the development of transport infrastructure in the Member States.

Source: 20 Minutos