A tax on emissions caused by the use of luxury means of transport, namely private jet flights and luxury yacht trips, is being considered by Spain to reduce the environmental impact caused by their “abusive” use.
The initiative belongs to the left-wing political platform Sumar, known for its progressive, environmental and social positions, which is taking the issue to Congress.
Sumar attempted to introduce this proposal in the law on the 15% tax on multinational companies, but failed and now presents a new, extra-institutional proposal to reopen the debate.
The proposal is signed by the left-wing “alliance” deputies En Comú, Aina Vidal and Júlia Boada, explaining that although the use of private jets has historically been linked to business and luxury travel, this seems to be in a “clear process of change”.
The two MEPs, citing a report published by Greenpeace in September 2024, which shows that private jets are increasingly being used for leisure travel, following the same seasonal pattern as traditional tourism.
The report states that in 2023 there were 117,965 private jet flights, mostly during the summer holiday season. Of these, 27,122 took place in Spain, accounting for 23% of all countries analysed, and caused around 134,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Sumar’s proposal notes that “this is equivalent to the annual emissions of about 89,300 fossil-fuel-powered cars”.
It should be noted that this figure refers only to emissions from flights to destinations, without taking into account emissions from return flights.
In addition to imposing a tax on these emissions, Sumar is calling for the funds raised to be used to finance measures to promote the democratisation of transport, such as the introduction of a single ticket and the improvement of the rail network.
Mrs Boada and Mrs Vidal point out that this type of transport is the “most unequal, most unfair and most polluting” and stress the need to tackle its environmental impact in a dynamic way.
