With COP29 failing to deliver anything close to the climate finance lower-income countries need, the world needs to look again at taxing rich people like us, says Julia Davies of Patriotic Millionaires UK. Expanding on Britain’s recent small increase in duty for private jets would both raise revenue and make a powerful statement on climate fairness.
When the curtain closed on COP29 in Baku, it left the world with the same frustrations we’ve seen too often: strong speeches, symbolic gestures, and inadequate action. While UK ministers were notably engaged, the new climate finance goal unveiled in Baku fell far short of what’s needed to address the escalating climate crisis.
Low-income, low-emission countries – the most vulnerable to climate impacts – are left with minimal support. Here at home in the UK, the public overwhelmingly support climate action, but fairly sharing the costs of funding it, and the benefits, is vital for this support to be maintained.
Amid all this lies an obvious and overlooked solution: taxing luxury emissions. As an organisation representing UK millionaires, Patriotic Millionaires UK firmly believes that taxing the super-rich is essential to address the climate crisis and foster meaningful societal change. We are proud to advocate for and contribute towards these higher taxes, recognising that such measures are necessary to build a sustainable and equitable future for all.
Private jets – the ultimate symbol of climate injustice
As COP29 concludes, private jets will have departed Baku, just as they did after previous summits in Dubai, Sharm El-Sheikh, and Glasgow, leaving an undeniable irony looming over the event: that while leaders call for climate action, the consumption patterns of the wealthiest people and corporations remain virtually untouched.
Private jets emit up to 30 times more pollution per passenger than economy flights and 50 times more than train travel. Taxing these emissions properly is not only a matter of generating revenue but also a crucial step toward climate fairness.
The UK government, striving to demonstrate climate leadership, has begun to take steps in the right direction, including increasing Air Passenger Duty (APD) for all private jet passengers in its October budget, while also consulting to expand the number of private jets that fall into the higher rate of APD. However, there is a clear need – and opportunity – to go further.
Private jets are still woefully undertaxed
As a recent Times article pointed out, some private jet passengers will spend more on a bottle of dessert wine on board than on the increased ticket tax. And despite the modest rise in APD, private jet fuel – like all aviation fuel – remains untaxed, and most private jets continue to enjoy exemptions from VAT. With these substantial tax breaks still in place, it’s only fair to expect those who use these highly polluting – and highly unnecessary – modes of transport to contribute more than what was unveiled in the budget.
Taxing private jets highly isn’t a radical idea, it’s simply common sense. How can we justify a system where care workers driving fuel-taxed vehicles effectively subsidise the untaxed fuel powering private jets for multimillionaires? Worse still, new Oxfam analysis reveals that the emissions from the private jets and superyachts of just 12 of the UK’s billionaires were equivalent in one year to the emissions of the poorest 19,000 UK citizens. There is no excuse for not doing more to address this glaring climate inequality. As one of Europe’s largest private jet hubs, the UK must take the lead in tackling the injustice of luxury transport.
More comprehensive taxes on luxury transport could raise £2bn
A fuller, fairer range of taxes on private jets – and their gas-guzzling superyacht cousins – could have raised up to £2bn for the UK Treasury in 2023. This is revenue that could be used to support a range of actions: whether helping lower income countries to adapt to climate change, fund our public services, bring down the cost of rail travel or to retrofit homes of people living in poverty, all while lightening the load on low- and middle-income households who are already contributing more than their fair share.
Increasing taxes on private jets shouldn’t be the end goal, it should be part of a larger plan to reduce and eventually phase out these lavish modes of transport, and coupled with greater wealth taxation across the board. As a millionaire myself, I believe those of us with the most resources should pay more and do our part.
We need global cooperation to tax the super-rich
In addition to ramping up taxes on luxury transport at home, these are the kind of no-brainer policies the UK government should be championing globally, including at summits like COP. COP29 issued a vague appeal for “alternative sources” of finance to aid lower-income countries – but let’s be absolutely clear: these “alternative sources” will be a smokescreen unless they focus on making the super-rich and biggest polluters contribute more.
COPs aren’t our only opportunity for cooperation and change. At the G20 summit in Brazil last week, global leaders reached a landmark agreement to cooperate on taxing ultra-high-net-worth individuals. That commitment marks a significant step toward addressing the damaging effects of extreme wealth on economies, societies, and democracies.
The upcoming UN Tax Convention, set for negotiation early next year, offers new hope for fair, transparent global tax rules. It’s a chance to address the tax systems that deprive countries of the revenue needed to tackle climate change and other urgent issues. With its early step on taxing private jets, the UK has a chance to lead by advocating for a fair, coordinated global approach to taxing luxury emissions.
Our fairer future can’t wait
These proposals have wide support: 81% of the British public back higher taxes on luxury transport and there’s a chorus of support in the UK parliament behind this agenda. As climate breakdown and inequality worsen, people want an end to tax breaks for luxury jets and yachts in favour of reducing emissions and generating revenue for climate action, public services and infrastructure.
While COP29 may have fallen short of expectations, the push for fair and effective climate solutions must not lose momentum. Every ton of CO₂ matters, and every undertaxed private jet that takes off is a missed opportunity for progress. To demonstrate real leadership, the UK must ratchet up its ambition and lead the way in making sure the very wealthiest contribute their fair share towards a fairer future.
Author
About Patriotic Millionaires UK: Patriotic Millionaires UK is a growing network of over 60 British millionaires who actively engage in influencing the media and political representatives.
Their unique contribution lies in using the voice of millionaires to publicly advocate for ending extreme wealth, challenging the economic chasm created by growing inequality. The group emphasises that extreme wealth, fostered by the current economic system, is destructive, ineffective, and undermines trust in democracy. As an establishment voice with a radical message, Patriotic Millionaires UK collaborates with allies to support campaigns for meaningful economic change.
Read our blog summary of Oxfam’s climate report for COP29: “How billionaire ‘pollutocrats’ are driving our climate crisis – and what we can do about it.” And you can read the full report here: Carbon Inequality Kills: Why curbing the excessive emissions of an elite few can create a sustainable planet for all.
And take action by joining Oxfam’s campaign for more taxes on polluting luxury travel here.
This blog has also been posted on the main Oxfam GB website.