Petrichor ᚄᚔᚅᚐᚁᚆᚃᚒᚔᚂ: "Governments are funding airlin…" - mastodon.ie

Recent searches

Search options

Only available when logged in.

Petrichor ᚄᚔᚅᚐᚁᚆᚃᚒᚔᚂ @sinabhfuil@mastodon.ie

Governments are funding airlines (by tax breaks) to make their climate-killing flights cheaper than rail travel
#ClimateCrisis #TaxBreaks #AviationFuel #Doomed
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/20/flying-in-europe-up-to-30-times-cheaper-than-train-says-greenpeace

The best lines include Lisbon-Porto and Madrid-Barcelona for domestic travel, and Berlin-Prague, Zurich-Vienna and Prague-Budapest for international travel. None of the top international train lines involved the UK, France, Spain or Italy.

“€10 airline tickets are only possible because others, like workers and taxpayers, pay the true cost,” said Lorelei Limousin, a climate campaigner at Greenpeace. “For the planet and people’s sake, politicians must act to turn this situation around and make taking the train the more affordable option.”

Flying is one of the most polluting activities a person can do and also one of the hardest to clean up. Unlike eating a burger or driving a car – which have cleaner alternatives such as plant-based meats and electric vehicles – there is no way to fly without changing the climate. Experts have criticised schemes claiming to offset emissions from flying as flawed.

In Europe, airlines pay no taxes on kerosene and little tax on tickets or VAT. Their emissions are only priced for flights within Europe – at a level below the social cost of carbon. A study published earlier this month by Transport and Environment, a green campaign group, found European governments lost out on €34.2bn from poor taxation on aviation in 2022. The “tax gap” is set to rise to €47.1bn in 2025, the report found.

“In short: if you fly, you are subsidised; if you take the train, you are punished by higher prices – as well as the fact that the journey is often longer,” said Gössling.

Jul 20, 2023, 05:59 AM··Web

8boosts·4favorites

Drag & drop to upload