The Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition

In June 2025, a new Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition was launched at the 4th International Conference on Financing and Development in Seville, Spain.

The Coalition aims to improve domestic revenue mobilization of developing countries and support international solidarity. It will work to increase the number of countries applying flight levies, focusing on premium travel, while ensuring upward harmonization and greater progressivity in countries which already have such levies in place.

In November 2025, at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force hosted their High Level Event on Solidarity Levies. At this event, the Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition announced new members, highlighting a deepening commitment to the Coalition and efforts to advance solidarity levies as a means of raising critical climate and development finance. The Coalition now includes Benin, Djibouti, France, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, and Spain. We also welcome Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Fiji, and Vanuatu as observers.

COP30 High-Level Event on Solidarity Levies

Eight countries launch Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition

Why Focus on Premium Flyers?

Outsized emissions:

Luxury flyers produce 2.6-3.4x more pollution than economy passengers; private jet users emit 5-14x more than commercial travelers.

Rapid growth:

Premium travel has surged since 2019, with emissions increasing 46% by 2023 and, with private jet use projected to increase 50% by 2030

Extreme inequality:

1% of the world’s population is responsible for over 50% of global aviation emissions and 80% of the population will never take a single flight.

Premium flyer levies can raise substantial revenue with minimal economic disruption and contribute to the fight against climate change while supporting development and nature conservation.

A global levy on premium flyers could raise up to €43 billion per year. €37 billion from premium tickets, and €6 billion from private jets.

Extending the levy to economy travel would generate €112 billion annually.

Join the Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition

The Task Force supports coalitions where countries can follow, consult, and engage with the Task Force’s work to design solidarity levies. The Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition was introduced in June 2025 in Seville at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development under the Sevilla Platform for Action. It now includes Benin, Djibouti, France, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, and Spain. Observers are Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Fiji, and Vanuatu.

Who can join?

The Coalition welcomes governments to participate at a level appropriate to their national context and policy priorities. Engagement as either a member or observer provides opportunities to influence the design of this emerging financing mechanism while demonstrating commitment to climate finance innovation.

Why join the Coalition?

Resilience needs are rising rapidly across both the Global South and the Global North. Climate-related damages – from extreme weather and water stress to food insecurity and health shocks – are increasing everywhere, as reflected in rising insurance losses and growing pressure on public budgets.

In the face of this common challenge, there is an urgent need for more predictable and scaled-up financing.Traditional financing mechanisms are failing to meet vulnerable nations’ urgent climate and development needs.

Targeted taxation of premium air travel offers a fair, efficient, and practical way to mobilize additional resources for resilience.

Such measures can be tailored to national contexts, have limited distortionary effects, and can mobilize significant revenues. By strengthening domestic resource mobilization, they enhance countries’ capacity to finance their own resilience priorities and help drive decisive action.

Membership Requirements

Governments must support solidarity levies as part of the solution to close the climate and development finance gap. This includes, considering domestic level introduction of solidarity levies proposed by the Task Force. In this particular case this involves advancing levies on premium flyers to fund investments in resilience.

Governments are also expected to take an active role through designating an official sherpa to engage with the Task Force’s proposals, to represent their country at meetings and consult with other task force members on additional sectors for levies and the implementation process.

FAQ

Get clear answers on what solidarity levies are, how they are designed, and why they matter for climate and development goals.

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