In defiance of climate, Sweden to abolish air transport tax – Libération

A decision that goes against history. The Swedish right-wing government – ​​supported by the far right – announced on Tuesday, September 3, that it would eliminate a tax on air travel introduced by the left in 2018, with the intention of reducing the effects of air travel on global warming.

“If we want to protect the possibility of having good air connections in Sweden and making Sweden an international hub, we must ensure that we do not undermine the competitive advantage that Sweden can have, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson justified this at a press conference. This is in line with long-term climate policy and helps to preserve the possibility of travelling across a very large country.” Energy Minister Ebba Busch stressed that only “a minority of countries in the EU had an air transport tax.” In this case, in addition to Sweden, Germany, Austria, France and the Netherlands.

The government had previously indicated that it was considering halving the tax. It has now decided to eliminate it on July 1, 2025.

“The government is completely abandoning climate policy”

Unsurprisingly, environmental NGOs are criticising the decision, saying it will lead to an increase in flights and therefore greenhouse gas emissions. “This is completely against the grain, the government is completely abandoning climate policy,” Daniel Kihlberg of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation laments to the newspaper The evening paper.

In March, an agency responsible for evaluating climate policy estimated that government policy in this area would cause an increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 and that the objectives announced for 2030 would not be met.

The reasons include the measures announced during the presentation of the 2024 budget, including the reduction in fuel taxes, but also the lack of concrete measures in the “climate action plan”, a four-year roadmap.