Environment & climate

Many believe that people should personally bear the cost of pollution they create, especially through airline taxes. I largely agree with this view, although I think governments must also act.

On one hand, carbon taxes encourage individuals to think twice before flying. When ticket prices rise, people may switch to trains or video calls, which lowers emissions. Also, the money raised could pay for green projects such as planting trees.

On the other hand, individual taxes alone are not enough. Big factories and power stations create more pollution than passengers. Governments must regulate these companies, otherwise wealthy individuals will just keep flying and the planet will not improve.

In conclusion, although individual carbon taxes are a useful tool, real progress needs both personal and government action.

The proposal that travellers should pay for the carbon they generate has gained traction in policy debates, particularly in relation to short-haul flights. While I agree that pricing externalities into individual choices is sensible, the approach is incomplete without parallel action on industrial emissions.

There is a strong case for charging individuals directly. A carbon tax on flights makes the true cost of travel visible: a passenger who currently pays €40 for a short hop is, in effect, externalising the climate damage of that trip. By internalising it, the policy nudges marginal travellers toward lower-impact options — rail, video conferencing, or simply travelling less often. The revenue raised, moreover, can be ring-fenced for decarbonisation projects, turning the tax into a virtuous circle.

However, individual pricing alone risks unfairness without addressing the larger sources of emissions. Industrial processes and electricity generation account for a far greater share of the global carbon budget than passenger aviation. A regime that taxes the average flyer while leaving heavy emitters untouched is both ineffective and politically vulnerable. The most credible policy frameworks therefore pair consumer-facing taxes with industrial caps.

On balance, I support carbon taxes on individual choices but argue that they should be one part of a wider system. Without complementary action on factories, the cost falls on those least able to influence the broader trajectory.