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Responsible for transport at the Ministry of the Environment: Minister Clément Beaune
Photo: Ludovic Marin / AFP
In France, what is probably the most elite form of transport is coming to the fore in the debate about a more climate-friendly transport policy: In an interview with the newspaper “Le Parisien”, Minister Clément Beaune brought up stricter regulations for private jets.
He would therefore consider higher taxes and other incentives to discourage private aviation, Beaune said.
As a so-called Associate Minister within the Ministry of the Environment, he is responsible for the transport sector.
Beaune also referred to President Emmanuel Macron's demands that all citizens should make equal efforts to protect the climate.
Flying in a private jet, on the other hand, is a “symbol of two different speeds in the effort”.
However, Beaune rejected a complete ban on private flights and referred to the economic importance of business aviation for France.
There must be European regulations, said Beaune.
According to the newspaper Le Monde, the debate was fueled by flight tracking providers, among other things, with which the luxury trips of some super-rich can be tracked.
For example, there is an automated profile on Twitter that provides information about the flights of a jet owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The "I Fly Bernard" profile records the trips of private jets of French billionaires and large corporations.
The extrapolated fuel consumption and the amount of CO₂, which appears rather unfavorable for the climate balance of the elite, are partly supplied directly.
For the French Greens, the Beaunes plans do not go far enough.
Julien Bayou, general secretary of the Europe Écologie Les Verts party, pushed for a complete ban on private jets via Twitter.
These polluted the environment 10 times more than standard passenger planes, Bayou said.
"So it's time to banish them, because they are literally poisoning us," said the Green.
According to Bayou, even a tax on private jet flights would not have the desired climate protection effect.
"If you introduce a tax, for example 15,000 euros, that wouldn't even be pocket money for these people," said the politician.
According to studies, global air traffic accounts for between two and five percent of global CO2 emissions.
Traveling with private jets is particularly inefficient due to the relatively small number of passengers transported.
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