The true cost of luxury travel

Urgent action is needed to tackle the climate crisis and deal with its devastating impacts which are pushing people deeper into poverty, and widening inequality. This action must be fair as well as fast. Governments should ensure that those who pollute the most also pay the most. In the UK, a crucial first step should be the proper taxation of private jets and superyachts.

Across the UK, fair taxes on private jets and superyachts could raise up to £2 billion a year for climate action and encourage those who use this high-polluting luxury travel to choose alternatives that are better for people and planet. Some powers to tax luxury travel in Scotland sit with the Scottish Government. That's why we're calling on both the UK and Scottish Governments to act.

Update: A 50% increase in Air Passenger Duty for private jets was announced in the UK Budget in October. This is a welcome step forward by the Government but much more could, and should, be done to ensure the richest are shouldering their fair share.

To achieve climate justice, we must tackle the extreme inequality that is driving the climate crisis. Highly polluting private jets and superyachts owned and used by the ultra-wealthy have caused – and continue to cause – irreversible damage to our planet. It’s only fair that they pay for the harm caused by their actions.

The money collected can be used to fight climate change and make sure those who cause the most harm are paying their fair share to fix it.

The very wealthiest individuals in a society tend to be responsible for far more pollution than most people, particularly those with extravagant lifestyles:

• It would take the average UK citizen almost 11 years to emit as much carbon as a single private jet emits in a round trip from London to New York.
• A private jet flight from London to Paris is 6 times more polluting per passenger than a commercial flight, 12 times more polluting per passenger than a petrol car, and 180 times more polluting per passenger than a Eurostar train.

Millionaire and billionaire luxury private jet ownership and usage, and superyacht ownership has been increasing. It’s only fair that those that pollute the most, pay the most for the damage they are causing.

The climate crisis is pushing people deeper into poverty, while the wealthiest people and corporations are getting even richer. Policymakers in the UK urgently need to implement new mechanisms to raise finance fairly, reduce emissions and tackle climate inequality. Those with most responsibility and the greatest capacity should be footing the bill for climate damage.

This money could be invested in building a fairer and greener future for lower income countries which are worst hit by floods, droughts, storms and sea-level rise, and help to ensure a fair transition to net zero in the UK.

Global agreements already in place, mean that countries worldwide, who are most responsible for historical and ongoing emissions have a responsibility to support lower-income, low-emitting countries to address the climate crisis.

This is vital money that can support communities in lower-income countries to access clean energy, adapt their livelihoods and infrastructure to escalating climate extremes, or rebuild and recover when a devastating climate impact hits.

Faster action to tackle the climate crisis, and to support those already impacted by it, can no longer be delayed. This payment is already long overdue.

There are a range of ways that taxation on luxury travel could be increased across the UK:

1. Introducing a high-rate Air Passenger Duty (APD)
2. Introducing a superyacht ownership tax
3. Taxing private jet fuel*
4. Charging Value Added Tax (VAT) on private aviation
5. Taxing landing and departure slots*
6. The Scottish Government should urgently take the steps needed to operationalise Air Departure Tax in Scotland, including a Private Jet Tax

If all these tax options had been applied to private jets and superyachts in 2023 the UK Treasury could have generated up to £2 billion for climate action.

*as recommended by Green Alliance in the brief ‘Taxing private jets: raising revenue from highly polluting, luxury private aviation’.