Private jets – The Green Tau

Counting on … 176

30th October 2025

Private jets – 3

For climate activists there is also the issue of justice. The increasing use and ownership of private jets represents the growing gap between the wealthiest and the poorest. This gap is socially unjust but doubly so, because the richer you are the bigger your carbon footprint. And the bigger your carbon footprint the more the damage you cause to the environment, the greater the impacts of adverse weather events, pollution, food and water shortages on the poorest.

“If everyone used private jets and superyachts like 50 of the world’s richest billionaires, the remaining carbon budget to stay within 1.5C would be burned up in just two days” quotes Oxfam’s report, From Poverty to Power (2024). The report looked at data on the luxury transport consumption of 50 of the world’s richest people and found that their consumption emissions totalled more that the poorest 2% of the world’s population (155 million people).

Amongst its recommendations, Oxfam’s report included –

Taxing the super-rich to curb their excessive consumption and investment emissions, and their role in propping up polluting industries.
Banning or punitively taxing carbon-intensive luxury consumptions, starting with private jets, superyachts, sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and frequent air travel.
Regulating corporations and investors to radically and fairly reduce their carbon emissions. (1)

There is also an issue for economists trying to address net zero. In a series produced by The Guardian, entitled The Great Carbon Divide, the economist Thomas Piketty says “Questions of social and economic class must be at the centre of our response to the climate crisis, to address the huge inequalities between the carbon footprints of the rich and poor and prevent a backlash against climate policies. Regulations will be needed to outlaw goods and services that have unnecessarily high greenhouse gas emissions, such as private jets, outsized vehicles, and flights over short distances.” (2)

(1) https://frompoverty.oxfam.org.uk/billionaire-pollutocrats-what-we-can-do/

(2) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/22/ban-private-jets-to-address-climate-crisis-says-thomas-piketty?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Counting on … 175

29th October 2025

Private jets -2

For climate activists there are three clear reasons for wishing to ban private jets.

On a per passenger basis they are the most polluting mode of transport
Private jets represent a most unequal form of transport. They are the domain of a small elite – whilst 80% of the world’s population have never flown. (There are about 22,000 to 23,000 private jets worldwide).
They are a wasteful and unsustainable mode of transport, carrying a small number of passengers, flying short distances, making them fuel-inefficient. (1)

As a status item, with a growing wealthy elite in not just Europe and North America but globally, there is the potential risk that private jet use and ownership will rise, increasing their impact on the environment.

“In recent years, the private aviation market has experienced unprecedented growth. Once seen as a luxury reserved for billionaires and celebrities, private jets are now becoming a practical choice for entrepreneurs, corporations, and even affluent families. The reasons behind this surge are multifaceted—ranging from convenience and privacy to safety and efficiency” !! (2)

In the UK (second most frequent private jet flyer after the USA) flights in private jets have increased fourfold between 2020 and 2022 – from 19,000 to 90,000 flights a year.

You can sign Greenpeace’s petition calling for a ban on private jets here:

https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/e/854853/etsLeadGenPE20230331-utm-term-/5txbn3/2827246452/h/LtGGnZlkzDS-QRLiFqU2jVEm1XIDnrJezh3SY2Tgi7U

Counting on … 174

28th October 2025

Private Jets -1

The International Council of Clean Transport report on greenhouse gas pollution found that private jets accounted for only 2%-4% of annual aviation emissions. (1) Are private jets as a sub sector of the aviation industry worth targeting?

Would limiting (eg by higher taxation) or banning private jets be a popular move for a government? Are the people who fly in private jets people a significant group within the electorate?

Are those who can afford private jets, also paying large amounts in tax – or are private jets tax deductible?

Are they movers and shakers in driving the economy and creating jobs?

Does the private jet industry itself create a significant number of jobs?

The current Labour government has increased air passenger duty (APD) which includes ordinary commercial flights and flights on private jets. The tax on the latter is increasing by 50% such that the most expensive rate for private jet flyers will increase from £607 to £673 in 2025, reaching £1,141 per passenger by April 2026.

“Those individuals who travel in larger more luxurious private jets may see a bigger increase,” the government said. “The additional increase to the higher rates ensures that APD costs as a proportion of the hiring costs for private jets are more in line with APD on commercial airlines as a proportion of airfares. The increase to the higher rate will ensure that users of private jets continue to make a fair contribution to the public finances.” (2)

Will this be sufficient to curb private jet flights?

The Green Party has proposed “a ban on all private jets taking off or landing at UK airports. They say this form of transportation, favoured by a super-rich elite, is the ultimate symbol of ‘climate inequality’ where the richest 1% of the population produce as much planet warming pollution each year as 5 billion people making up the poorest two-thirds of the global population.” (3)

(1) https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ID-349-–-Private-jets_report_final.pdf

(2) https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/budget-2024-private-jet-tax-rise-b2638927.html

(3) https://greenparty.org.uk/2023/11/28/green-party-calls-for-ban-on-private-jets-the-ultimate-symbol-of-climate-inequality/

Information on campaign groups opposing private jets

Campaigns

https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/ban-private-jets

Climate activists blockade Farnborough private jet airport’s three main gates

Windows of Opportunity

3rd December 2023

Ban Private Jets

“Aviation is the source of an important chunk of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in high-income countries. To mitigate climate change it is thus of paramount importance to massively limit the hours of fossil-fueled flying.

BanPrivateJets.org wants to stress that, to achieve this, it is necessary to develop and implement socially acceptable policy measures…Banning private jets, the namesake of this initiative, is just one example of such measures. It achieves important reductions hitting a very small set of people without making flying more difficult for those who only infrequently do so. As such it should be socially acceptable. Moreover, it communicates the urgency of tackling climate change.

#BanPrivateJets because it hits first those who pollute most
#BanPrivateJets because it doesn’t hit people who fly rarely
#BanPrivateJets because there is no reason to allow them
#BanPrivateJets because something has to be done right now.” https://banprivatejets.org/

In 2019, Labour was considering just such a policy. The Guardian reported “Labour is exploring plans to ban private jets from UK airports from as early as 2025 should it win the election, in the party’s latest broadside against the super-rich.”

Counting on … day 1.119

Counting on …. Day 1.119

23rd May 2023

The campaign group “We Move” believes that politics in Europe needs to put people and planet first, and that it is people who have the power to push for the changes that are needed.

Here is one of there current campaigns –

“Just 1% of people are responsible for half of all toxic emissions from flying….But here’s the thing: we can do something about it. In fact, the solution is simple – cut emissions from luxury flights. This includes a ban of private jets from European airports, a tax on frequent flyers and an end to frequent flyer programmes. And we know it can be done: Climate activists recently scored a win and managed to ban private jets at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Let’s build on that success and cut down luxury emissions from flying.”

https://act.wemove.eu/campaigns/ban-private-jets-and-luxury-emissions