Abstract:

A global FFL would shift the climate cost of flying away from occasional fliers and toward wealthier frequent fliers. The study estimates that a global FFL would generate 81% of revenue from frequent fliers (2% of global population) and 90% of the revenue from the richest 10% of world population. High-income countries would contribute 67% of total global revenue under a FFL, compared with 51% under a flat tax. Since high-income countries have emitted about 70% of aviation CO2 over the past four decades, this suggests that the cost burden under an FFL would closely track historical emissions. Global FFL could help implement a global net-zero target in an equitable way. But implementation challenges exist, including creating accurate flying frequency database and governing the use of revenues collected.