Ban Private Jets.

End Luxury Emissions. 

Open Letter

On Monday October 2nd, Stay Grounded, along with over 75 organisations from across Europe, launched an open letter calling on national and European policymakers to ban private jets and tax frequent flying.

Devastation is being wrought by a small class of rich hypermobile elites, who are incentivised to take luxury flights by frequent flyer programmes, and some of whom splurge their wealth on needless, super-polluting private jets. Fortunately, there are feasible policy solutions to this crisis of greed.

And they’re popular.

There is a clear demand for policies that tackle climate breakdown while reducing inequality, as shown by the Their Time to Pay marches that took place in Portugal, Luxembourg, Austria, Greece, Turkey, and Switzerland just two days before the launch.

Open letter to decision-makers in Europe

Just 1% of the global population is responsible for half of all aviation emissions. 

With this open letter, we demand that you take action to address this social and environmental scandal:

1. Ban private jets

2. Ban frequent flyer programmes

 

3. Tax frequent flyers

 

Climate breakdown is here. From floods in Italy, South Korea and Pakistan to wildfires in Greece, the United States and Australia, the symptoms of a seriously ill planet are proving deadly for life on earth and will continue to accelerate without urgent political action. As a continent with a disproportionate role in historic emissions causing the climate crisis, it is our responsibility to take action.

Flights are taken by relatively few people but produce huge levels of emissions. In 2018 alone, the best estimate for aviation’s overall contribution to global heating was 5.9%. Looking at the aviation sector’s lifetime so far, it has contributed more to global heating than the entire continent of Africa

This devastation is being wrought by a small class of rich hypermobile elites, who are incentivised to take luxury flights by frequent flyer programmes, and some of whom splurge their wealth on needless, super-polluting private jets. Fortunately, there are feasible policy solutions to this crisis of greed.

Read the text in full

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91 signatory organisations

Actif-Trafic / UmverkehR (CH), ADERA – Association for the Defense of the Environment for Residents of Beauvais-Tillé Airport (FR), ADNA – Association de Défense contre les Nuisances de l’Aéroport de Cannes-Mandelieu, ADRA – Association de Défense des Riverains de l’Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse (FR), ADVOCNAR – Association de Défense des Riverains de Roissy et du Bourget (FR), Alliantie Plein Air Maastricht (NL), Alofa Tuvalu (FR), Alternatiba (FR), Alternatiba Paris (FR), Alternatiba06 (FR), Amsterdam Fossielvrij (NL), An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (ROI), ANV-COP21 – Action Non-violente COP21 (FR), ANV-COP21 Nice (FR), Associação Último Recurso (PT), Association ForezAgir Saint Étienne (FR), ASAV – Association pour la Sauvegarde et l’Aménagement de la Vallée de la Mole (FR), ATERRA (PT), ATTAC 06 (FR), ATTAC France (FR), ATTAC Germany (DE), Atterrissons d’Urgence, Montpellier (FR), AXO Southampton, BABA – Bristol Airport is Big Enough (UK), Back-on-track.eu (EU), Bevar Jordforbindelsen (DK), Bundesvereinigung gegen Fluglärm e.V. (DE), Bürgerinitiative gegen Fluglärm Raunheim (DE), Climate Emergency Camden (UK), Climáximo (PT), CCNAAT – Collectif Contre les Nuisances Aériennes de l’Agglomération Toulousaine (FR), Collectif Citoyen 06 (FR), Collectif Non au T4 (FR), Collectif Stop Extension Aéroport Marseille Provences (FR), Corporate Europe Observatory (EU), Degrowth Vienna (AT), European Rail Campaign (UK), Extinction Rebellion Denmark (DK), Extinction Rebellion Sweden (SE), Federation of Young European Greens (EU), Flight Free UK (UK), FMO Ausstieg Jetzt! (DE), Focus Association for Sustainable Development (SI), Forum Ökologie & Papier (DE), Fossielvrij NL (NL), Fridays for Future Scotland (UK), Fuel Poverty Action (UK), GIGNV – le Groupe d’Intervention des Grenouilles Nonviolentes (FR) Global Justice Now (UK), GALBA – Group For Action On Leeds Bradford Airport (UK), Klimabevægelsen i Danmark (DK), Krimp Luchtvaart (NL), Letiště Praha Nebourat, Nerozšiřovat! (CZ), Love Letters to Landscapes (UK), Milieudefensie – Friends Of The Earth Netherlands (NL), Morar em Lisboa (PT), NADA Lille – Non à l’Agrandissement de l’Aéroport de Lille (FR), Oui au Train de Nuit (FR), Periskop – Kollektiv für Solidarischen und Ökologischen Wandel (AT), Plane Hell Action SE (UK), Possible (UK), Rebelión Científica España (ES), Rede para o Decrescimento (PT), Regionalwert AG Hamburg (DE), Research and Degrowth International (ES), Reseau ADES (BE), Reseau DRAPO (FR), Rester sur Terre (FR), ROBIN WOOD (DE), Rolfsdotter AB (SE), Safe Landing (int.), Schipholwatch (NL), Schöne Städte (int.), Scientifiques en Rebéllion (FR), Scientifiques en Rebéllion Nice (FR), Scientist Rebellion Denmark (DK), South-West Essex Fight the Flights (UK), Stay Grounded Network (int.), Stay Grounded UK Chapter (UK), Stichting Genethica (NL), Stichting Recht op Bescherming tegen Vliegtuighinder (NL), Stop Extension Aéroport Marseille Provence (FR), System Change Not Climate Change! (AT), TaCa (FR), Taxmenow (DE, AT, CH), Umanotera – The Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development (SI), UFNCA Union Française contre les Nuisances des Aéronef (FR), We Stay On The Ground (SE), WTL – Werkgroep Toekomst Luchtvaart (NL)

 

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To maximise the spread of the open letter, we will release a video at the same time which will be unbranded except for a slide at the end with logos of signees. If you click "yes", we will send the video several days in advance and give you the chance to opt out. Please send to sean@stay-grounded.org.
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To maximise the spread of the open letter, we will release a video at the same time which will be unbranded except for a slide at the end with logos of signees. If you click "yes", we will send the video several days in advance and give you the chance to opt out. Please send to sean@stay-grounded.org.
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For example, we plan to share social media resources that you can use to spread the open letter on launch day.

Take action as an individual

If you support the demand to ban private jets and tax frequent flyers, sign the petition as an individual!