Breakingviews - Private jet crackdown is idea that could fly - Reuters

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LONDON, Aug 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Tax the flying rich: French Transport Minister Clément Beaune is weighing up an idea that would help reduce carbon emissions while sending a message that all members of society must share in the sacrifices caused by the energy crisis. He wants to restrict the use of private jets.

The private aircraft favoured by corporate bigwigs, hedge fund managers and Hollywood grandees are an easy target in the fight against global warming. Just 1% of travellers cause 50% of the aviation industry’s carbon emissions, according to Transport & Environment, a European advocacy group.

Yet the pandemic encouraged more people to pay for the privilege of avoiding airborne contact with strangers. In the first seven months of the year, global business flights were up 22% compared to the same period of 2021, according to aviation consultancy Wingx. Commercial airline activity was down 18%.

Governments can use higher taxes or regulation to ground private jets. One option would be to force private aircraft into the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, which currently only applies to commercial airlines. Owners of private jets would then be forced to buy “emission allowances” that work like limited rights to pollute, pushing up the cost of their flights.

But France is also mulling forcing jet users to prove that they don’t have more climate-friendly ways to reach their destination, like using scheduled airlines or taking the train. That would put private flyers at the mercy of the French bureaucracy – a serious deterrent.

Any tax would have to be punitive to force movie stars or status-conscious chief executives to swap their Gulfstream jets for a regular business-class seat. But the revenue raised would at least help offset some of the massive carbon footprint. And unlike most other taxes, there is little economic downside. CEOs intent on travelling solo may decide to land their planes abroad, but it’s unlikely to have a meaningful impact on investment in France. And the restrictions could be more effective if European transport ministers embrace the idea when they discuss it in October.

Investors are so far unruffled. Shares in Dassault Aviation (AM.PA), the $12 billion military and commercial aircraft maker which produces the Falcon, one of the world’s most popular private jets, have traded in line with the broader French market since Beaune’s comments last weekend. That supports the idea that the rich will be reluctant to give up private air travel. It also makes a crackdown more likely to fly.

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CONTEXT NEWS

French Transport Minister Clément Beaune said on Aug. 20 that he was considering imposing restrictions on private flights, which he said should not be “an individual, comfort mode of transportation (when) everyone is required to make efforts.”

Government spokesman Olivier Véran later said that the government was not pushing for an “outright ban” on the use of private jets, but that demands to switch to “sober” energy consumption should apply to everyone.

European Union transport ministers are due to meet in October to debate the idea.

Editing by Peter Thal Larsen and Oliver Taslic

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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