The Minister of Transport tries to respond to the controversy over private jets. The government will provide a “ecocontribution revised upwards” in 2024 for private commercial aviation, announced Thursday April 6 Clément Beaune, in the National Assembly, during a debate on the pollution caused by these devices.
“The subject is not anecdotal”admitted the minister in the hemicycle, while expressing his hostility to the ban on private jet flights, brought by environmentalists as part of their day reserved for the Palais Bourbon.
In the finance law for 2023, a “70% increase in fuel tax for private aviation” was put in place, he recalled, agreeing that certain practices were “shocking, often offbeat, sometimes unacceptable”.
“And I am announcing it to you, we will go further if you agree in the budget for 2024 by proposing that private commercial aviation (…) could be the subject of an additional contribution, an eco-contribution reviewed at the increase, which will precisely allow these behaviors to be taken into account”continued the Minister.
“Bringing the Rich Down to Earth”
“The general ban gives a good conscience but does not advance the ecological transition in practice”estimated Clément Beaune, emphasizing in particular the “legal obstacles” and the difficulty of defining and monitoring exemptions.
Environmentalists proposed banning “non-scheduled passenger air transport services not operated commercially”as well as non-scheduled public air transport services “whose number of passengers is less than sixty”.
It is “bring the rich back to earth” by making them contribute to the ecological transition, pleaded the deputy Julien Bayou. “It is the measure that penalizes the fewest people but produces the maximum effects for the climate and the atmosphere”he estimated.
The examination of the text, which was heading towards a rejection, could not be completed for lack of time, a “parliamentary niche” cannot last beyond midnight.
Also listen Climate: why private jet flights cause a scandal