Have you heard of the organization ‘Stay Grounded’. They are a European-based organization that brings together “people, communities and organisations from around the world, dealing with the multiple impacts of aviation.” The organization has a wide range of members including climate justice activists, academics, transportation sector workers and companies all with a common goal of reducing the impact of the aviation industry.
Some of the facts on their site are simply stunning - for example did you know that “less than 10% of the world population have ever set foot on an aircraft” and that it is “mostly non-flyers who bear the brunt of the climate crisis and the negative effects of airport expansion like land grabbing, noise and health issues. Communities in the Global South, which have barely contributed to the crisis, are affected most.” Perhaps most stunning is the finding that ~1% of the world’s population causes 50% of commercial aviation emissions.
Stay Grounded has a number of initiatives but one that is catching attention is their new campaign to implement a Frequent Flying Levy in Europe. Stay Grounded and the New Economics Foundation have created a study on implementing a Frequent Flying Levy finding it “a majority of the population” and “will also create six times more tax revenues from aviation, which are needed to fill the large finance gap for the green transition in Europe and in the Global South.”
You can see the report in English or read it in four other languages.