Activists in Brussels denounce “Greenwashing” and tax benefits the air transport industry benefits from

In preparation for COP 24, the conference on global warming that will take place in Katowice (Poland) from December 3rd to 14th, activists of #ActForClimateJustice have symbolically represented, with their bodies painted in red, the line of 1.5 ° C of global warming not to be exceeded. Their goal was to show employees of the International Air Transport Association (I.A.T.A.) that they passed over that red line on their way to their offices.

They denounced the “Greenwashing” conducted by air transport and the tax benefits it enjoys. Greenwashing refers to the marketing processes used to create a responsible ecological image.

“Greenhouse gas emissions from the airline sector have doubled since 1990 and will triple again by 2030 if nothing changes. We can no longer stay calmly at home while I.A.T.A. and other aviation lobbies steal our future with greenwashing. It is incomprehensible that, in the midst of the climate crisis, a train ticket costs twice as much as a plane ticket,” said one participant.

The activists recalled that since the Chicago Convention in 1944, aircraft kerosene is exempt from all taxes for international flights, which explains the attractive prices of air transport. For them, it is imperative to limit emissions to their source by reducing air traffic.

The latter “must be transferred to other means of transport, which will only be possible by integrating air traffic emissions into the climate agreements and by better taxing air transport to a minimum, eliminating distortions of competition,” the activists said.