The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament has called for a ban on the non-essential use of private jets as the EU faces a fuel shortage amid a kerosene supply squeeze due to the war in the Persian Gulf.
In a letter dated 22 April, Lena Schilling and 20 fellow group members called on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her transport commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, to put a stop, at least temporarily, to what they describe as a wasteful use of fossil fuel by the ultra-rich.
“While millions of people are wondering how they will afford their commute, private jets continue to take off as if nothing is happening,” Schilling said. “This shows exactly who is expected to pay for this crisis and who is not.”
To make sure everyone tightens their belts, the Greens are calling for a temporary EU-wide ban on non-essential private jet flights – with essential medical needs and critical government missions exempted – for the duration of the crisis.
They urged the European Commission to include this restriction in a forthcoming catalogue of energy-saving measures, to be presented to energy ministers at an informal EU Council summit in Cyprus on 13 May.
The group Transport & Environment has found that private jets emit on average 10 times more carbon than commercial aircraft, and 50 times more than trains.
A private flight for four people can generate emissions equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of an average person.
‘Indefensible’
The Greens put forward two main reasons for restricting private jet travel: it is socially inequitable and has particularly high CO₂ emissions per passenger. While this is true in all circumstances, they argue that it becomes “indefensible” during a severe energy crisis.
Schilling and her colleagues expressed surprise at a complete lack of regulation in the area, while the commercial aviation sector is already feeling the pressure, with hundreds of flights already cancelled for the coming months.
A similar proposal was previously rejected. In 2023, the European Commission rejected a joint request from Austria, France and the Netherlands to curb the use of private jets, to tackle emissions from business aviation.
The then-European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, had stated that she preferred to address aviation as a whole rather than specifically target private jets.
Marie Toussaint, a French lawmaker who also signed the letter, told Euractiv that Europe must “lead by example by aligning its actions with its values of solidarity and fairness”.
Both Toussaint and Austrian MEP Schilling were among over 50 lawmakers from the Greens, Socialists & Democrats, liberal Renew and The Left groups who called on the Commission last week to introduce a windfall tax on excess profits being raked in by petroleum companies as prices soar.
(rh, aw)
