IATA Upset About New French Climate Tax

World aviation organization IATA warns of the disastrous consequences of the climate tax that the French government wants to impose on the aviation sector. The tax should yield the treasury 4.2 billion euros annually, but it puts 150,000 jobs at risk.

Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat (CCC), the working group appointed by President Macron to make climate plans, wants an additional tax on airline tickets to reduce CO2 emissions.

The French aviation authority DGAC estimates that 150,000 jobs will be lost as a result of this measure and that the French economy will suffer 5 to 6 billion euros in damage. In addition, it would only reduce CO2 emissions by 3.5 million tons per year, only 1 percent of the total French emissions.

“This proposal cannot be taken seriously. Now is not the time to do more damage to the French aviation sector that the corona crisis is already causing, ” said IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac.

COVID-19 has reduced the number of passengers at French airports by 80 percent this year, and sales have plummeted by 15 billion euros. As a result, 466,000 jobs are already hanging by a thread. France was the 8th largest aviation market in the world until now, but that position is now in danger of deteriorating further.