‘Common sense solution’: How taxes on yachts and private jets could fund climate action

Demands for climate policies targeting the polluting activities of the super-rich are rapidly gaining traction.

Several countries have so far proposed billionaire taxes to raise funds for, among other things, tackling climate change. Earlier this year finance leaders from G20 countries agreed on a wealth tax on the world’s super-rich.

It could raise around €230 billion to tackle causes like climate change and poverty.

Disagreements have been bubbling away under the surface about whether the plan is viable, who would oversee the process, and how to actually introduce a tax on the super-rich.

New research has shown that the general population finds it hard to estimate exactly how wealth changes people’s carbon footprint. And that could affect their support for climate policies that would tax the highly polluting activities of the super-rich.

So just how vast is the difference in emissions?

An analysis by Oxfam and researchers in the US from November last year looked at the luxury purchases and financial investments of 12 billionaires. It found that they account for almost 17 million tonnes of greenhouse gases each year - the same as 2.1 million average homes or 4.6 coal-fired power plants annually.

Previous research has also shown that the wealthiest 1 per cent of people contribute more emissions than two-thirds of all humanity.

And flying by private jet, according to a study from last year by Green Alliance, releases 10 times more carbon for each passenger than commercial flights. European private jet emissions have soared in recent years, with a 31 per cent increase between 2005 and 2019 - faster than commercial aviation emissions.

In the UK, fair taxes on superyachts and private jets could have brought in an extra £2