Overview
- Spain and France formally presented the proposal at COP30 in Belém to add an extra levy on high‑end air travel to raise climate finance.
- The measure would apply to first and business class tickets and private jets, and countries that already tax such flights would increase their rates, according to the presentation.
- The sponsor coalition named initial members including France, Benin, Djibouti, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia and South Sudan, with Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Fiji and Vanuatu listed as observers.
- Backers cited coalition data that roughly 1% of the global population accounts for over half of commercial aviation emissions and that premium‑flight emissions rose 46% from 2019 to 2023.
- Officials framed the levy as a solidarity tax aligned with the Paris Agreement and called for more countries to join, emphasizing that it remains a proposal seeking wider political support rather than an adopted UN decision.