Sweden wants to introduce a new type of bonus flyer scheme to reduce the ecological footprint of its two main airports. Aircraft arrivals would be categorised according to their pollution impact, the government announced on Monday, making it the first in Europe to reform air transport from the ground up. According to the infrastructure minister, in practice this means that take-off and landing charges could be higher if the aircraft’s negative impact on the climate is greater and lower if it has a negligible impact. The measure, which will affect the fees paid by companies, will come into force on 1 July 2021. Newer aircraft with lower emissions will be favoured, while older aircraft with the highest emissions will be penalised. The bill, which still needs parliamentary approval, also requires the proportion of biofuels used in aviation to be taken into account. The good practice will initially only apply at the country’s two main airports, Stockholm Arlanda and Gothenburg Landsvetter. According to the Swedish government, although the exact details are still to be agreed, the introduction of the project will be the first of its kind in the EU, and possibly in the world, to take such a major step to tackle the acceleration of climate change in aviation. The development of the measure was part of the so-called “January Agreement” on which the current Social Democratic government, which includes the Greens, is based. In a country that promotes the concept of “flygskam” (the shame of flying), each Swede emits around 1.1 tonnes of CO2 a year from aviation, an increase of almost 50% since 1990, according to a 2017 study. A few months after Finland, Sweden was the first country to introduce a carbon tax in the early 1990s.
Source: Lechotouristique.com