Letter to the Prime Minister on the proposed departure tax

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The Commissioner has written to the Prime Minister about introducing a departure tax to address the emissions associated with international air travel.

The proposal is one of several contained in his recent report, Not 100% – but four steps closer to sustainable tourism, intended to reduce the environmental footprint of tourism as it re-emerges in the wake of Covid-19.

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with flying to and from Aotearoa are probably the biggest long-term environmental challenge facing the tourism industry. They also represent an acute vulnerability should the sort of climate awareness represented by flygskam become more widespread in future.

Unlike greenhouse emissions from domestic aviation, emissions from international flights are unpriced. That means there is little incentive for travellers to choose more fuel efficient carriers or destinations closer to home. Likewise, fuel refiners, aircraft manufacturers and airlines have little incentive to search for and develop lower emissions aviation technologies.

A departure tax would ensure that Kiwis and international tourists alike bear some financial responsibility for the emissions they generate in flying to and from New Zealand. The public revenues that would result could be used to help find solutions to the carbon intensity of long-haul travel, and provide climate finance for low-lying Pacific Island nations.