Majority of British public back higher taxes on private jets and superyachts to help tackle climate crisis

Four in five Brits (81%) support increasing taxes on luxury transport – such as private jets and superyachts – to help raise vital funds to tackle the climate crisis, according to a poll published by Oxfam today.

On the eve of the Prime Minister’s speech at the UN Climate Summit, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, the YouGov poll shows that nearly half of the British public (45%) think the government should be doing more to address climate change in countries most affected by the crisis.

With this year’s summit focusing on the scaling up of much-needed finance to help low-income countries most affected by climate change and negotiating a new global climate finance goal, the survey also found almost two-thirds (64%) of the British public support increasing taxes on the wealthiest individuals in the UK to fund climate action, while three quarters (75%) of the public support increasing taxes on businesses in sectors that produce the most emissions.

Chiara Liguori, Oxfam GB's Senior Climate Justice Policy Advisor said: “The Prime Minister urgently needs to do more to provide support to communities already facing the devastating consequences of the climate crisis. The money is there. Our poll shows the public support for making the biggest and richest polluters pay. Given private jets and superyachts are highly polluting, highly unnecessary, and yet still undertaxed, these luxuries are an obvious place to start.”

The poll revealed widespread support for the increase in Air Passenger Duty on private jet flights announced in the recent budget – with 80 per cent of the British public backing the move. Over half (54%) of Brits also said they would support introducing a tax on aviation fuel which, unlike fuel for motor vehicles, is currently tax-free.

Despite being among the most polluting ways to travel, use of private jets and superyachts in the UK is soaring. Oxfam's analysis found that the annual emissions of an average UK billionaire, from their superyacht and private jet use, are 700 times higher than those of the average Brit. In just half a day, they emit as much as an average Brit does in an entire year.

Oxfam recently calculated that fair taxes on private jets and superyachts in the UK could have raised up to £2 billion last year to help generate vital funds for climate action – exceeding the total climate finance the UK Government provided in 2023 (£1.8bn).

Liguori said: “The recent rise in private jet Air Passenger Duty 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.

“At COP29, the UK must push for an ambitious new climate finance goal to support low-income countries access renewable energy and deal with the impacts of an escalating climate crisis they did little to cause.

“If the UK is to restore trust and credibility, it must also demonstrate how funds can be raised. Increasing taxes on the biggest and richest polluters is the common-sense solution that is urgently needed to reduce emissions and raise climate finance quickly and – crucially – fairly.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

• All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,105 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 1-4 November 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
• Oxfam recently calculated that fair taxes on private jets and superyachts in the UK could have raised up to £2 billion last year to help generate vital funds for communities suffering the worst impacts of climate change.
• Oxfam’s calculations show that the average consumption emissions of a UK billionaire, from their use of private jets and superyachts, amount to 5,354 tonnes of CO₂-e annually (see Carbon Inequality Kills Report Methodology Note for details). Data from the Stockholm Environmental Institute in 2019 (see the Emissions Inequality Calculator Global Dashboard), shows that the average emissions of someone in the UK are around 7.61 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent per year. Dividing the billionaire’s emissions by the UK average emissions, we find that the emissions of a UK billionaire are approximately 703 times those of an average person in the UK, which is rounded to 700 for simplicity. Using the same method and then dividing the UK average emissions by the billionaire’s daily emissions, we find that a UK billionaire emits in approximately 0.52 days (half a day) what an average person in the UK emits in an entire year.
• Oxfam is advocating for an ambitious climate finance goal that properly addresses the climate financing needs of low-income countries and communities impacted by crisis, at the scale of trillions of dollars and based primarily on public finance. This finance should be additional and not double counted from existing aid budgets. The new goal should cover funding not just for climate change mitigation and adaptation, but also for loss and damage.
• It is estimated that lower-income countries need trillions to mitigate and cope with the worsening effects of climate breakdown. Climate justice activists are demanding the Global North provide at least $5 trillion a year in public finance to the Global South "as a down payment towards their climate debt" to the countries, people and communities of the Global South who are the least responsible for climate breakdown but are the most affected.