IATA warns France’s proposed environment tax to cost 150,000 jobs

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has cautioned that France’s proposed environment tax would cost 150,000 jobs.

Created under President Emmanuel Macron, the Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat (CCC) is recommending a series of measures to control aviation emissions.

It will introduce an eco-tax on tickets for all flights leaving the country with the aim of raising €4.2bn a year.

According to the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) estimation, the CCC proposal would minimise emissions by 3.5Mtpa and cost the French economy with €5bn to €6bn in lost GDP.

IATA director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said: “This proposal cannot be taken seriously.

“It is not the time to add €6bn and 150,000 lost jobs to the economic destruction already being levelled on the French aviation sector by Covid-19.

“And it will all but eliminate the 160,000 jobs that the government is trying to create with €100bn in its economic re-launch plan.

“In this time of crisis, we need coherent policies that will save jobs, not policies that will destroy them.”

The global aviation industry has pledged carbon-neutral growth from next year while global airlines are aiming to curb the sector’s net carbon footprint to half of 2005 levels by 2050.

In July, IATA urged the International Energy Agency (IEA) to focus its attention on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) investment.