The world has certainly taken notice of the vast amount of changes in climate. While the cause of climate change is certainly under debate, the reality is that the earth is experiencing more extreme weather patterns. While the arguments are ongoing, some countries have decided to take matters a little more seriously with adapting climate-related changes.
A new tax was announced on Tuesday in France designed to address the issues of climate change. One of the pretenses for the man-made climate change argument has been the rise of CO2 levels in the environment. This can, in part, be attributed to man-made emissions from car and air travel. The burning of fossil fuels has been widely recognized as a contributing factor to the increase in CO2 levels globally.
The Basis for The New Tax
The new tax in France assesses a tax on all air travel tickets to help battle climate change. While the tax amount is not extensive, the purpose of the tax is to increase other forms of travel. Depending on the flight, the tax amount will range from between 1.50 euros, which is equivalent to $1.70 U.S dollars to 18 euros, which is equivalent to $20 dollars per flight. For a person buying a round trip ticket, the amount is doubled.
France Transport Minister Élisabeth Borne said the money is expected to raise an annual amount of 180 million euros, which is equivalent to approximately $202 million dollars. The money that will be raised from the tax will be reinvested in more eco-friendly transportation networks such as high speed and regular rail services.
Britain also has had a tax in place that is similar, and Sweden implemented a law last year for the same purpose. When given a choice on where to collect taxes from to create economic revenue to battle climate change, the solution devised by several European nations has been to tax people that use transportation that creates more greenhouse gas emissions and not on income.
These three European countries believe by taxing people and companies that have a bigger carbon footprint and create higher levels of CO2 they are justly creating the funds for travel alternatives that are better for the environment. The tax is set to begin next year for all flight tickets purchased in France. The airline industry has stated that airline travel accounts for just 2% of man-made carbon emissions, which makes this an unbalanced target for dealing with the problem.
