The two Swedish mums who want people to give up flying for a year

Two Swedish mums have persuaded 10,000 people to commit to not taking any flights in 2019. Their social media initiative, No-fly 2019 (Flygfritt 2019), is aiming for 100,000 pledges, and has been asking participants to post their reasons for signing up.  Maja Rosen and her neighbour Lotta Hammar say they started the campaign to show politicians what needs to be done to halt climate change.  Direct emissions from aviation account for about 3% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the European Commission. And, it says, if global aviation was a country, it would rank in the top 10 emitters. See the video from Maja and Lotta.  Sweden has had, since April, a tax of about $7 for short haul flights and about $48 on long haul flights, with the intention of cutting carbon emissions.
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The two Swedish mums who want people to give up flying for a year

28.11.2018   (BBC)

Two Swedish mums have persuaded 10,000 people to commit to not taking any flights in 2019.

Their social media initiative, No-fly 2019 (Flygfritt 2019), is aiming for 100,000 pledges, and has been asking participants to post their reasons for signing up.

Maja Rosen and her neighbour Lotta Hammar say they started the campaign to show politicians what needs to be done to halt climate change.

Direct emissions from aviation account for about 3% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the European Commission. And, it says, if global aviation was a country, it would rank in the top 10 emitters.

Video produced by Matilda Welin and Suniti Singh

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-46362159/the-two-swedish-mums-who-want-people-to-give-up-flying-for-a-year 

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See also

 

The concept of “flying shame” is growing in Sweden – shame if you fly too much – due to the CO2 emissions

Many Northern Europeans have “flying shame” because of the climate: they stay on the ground while traveling. Rail travel is becoming increasingly popular. Some people in Sweden are cutting down on flying, and believe the carbon emissions are a matter of shame. The word for it is “flugsham” or “flygskam” and this is becoming a common concept, akin to ‘flying less” in English. A celebrity athlete is well know for only travelling to sporting events if he can get there by train. The Swedes are among the frequent flyers. They fly 7 times more than average global citizens.  While Sweden’s total CO2 emissions have fallen by 24% since 1990, air traffic grew by 61% in that time. A prominent writer in a popular newspaper  denounced the “idiotic lifestyle” of frequent flying as the “most expensive suicide in world history”. Researchers and artists responded: “Flying is no longer an alternative for them”.  People realise that we cannot go on with expanding aviation. A Facebook page on travelling by long-distance rail, rather than flying, had 30,000 followers in a few months. As well as the hashtag #flyingless there is the Swedish counterpart in #jagstannarpåmarken: “I’ll stay on the ground”.    

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2018/11/the-concept-of-flying-shame-is-growing-in-sweden-shame-if-you-fly-too-much-due-to-the-co2-emissions/

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Sweden should face down industry myths about the impact of an air travel tax, and impose it

There is a great interest in Sweden on which decisions will be taken regarding aviation tax. For European airlines, resistance to air taxes is a top priority. Andrew Murphy, Manager at Aviation at Transport & Environment (T&E) believes Sweden must resist industry pressure and intimidation, and not cut the taxes.  In every country, in Europe the airline industry lobbies in the same way: say the tax threaten job losses, say it’ll destroy the economy, and threaten to shut down routes if governments don’t drop attempts to tax. The UK’s air passenger duty (APD), first introduced in 1994, has withstood all onslaughts while its airline sector has thrived. Now it’s Sweden’s turn to be subject to this economic scaremongering. For airlines, low taxes  mean slightly cheaper tickets, so more passengers and more money for the industry. And more CO2 of course. industry arguments have very little basis in reality, and are rarely backed up with any credible evidence. In the UK a tax of £13 per return flight for an adult really is not enough to stop anyone travelling to Europe. Nor will a tax of £7 – 37 in Sweden. The industry likes to make out that the tax is wicked and damaging, and everyone deserves a tax break at the expense of all the others who don’t fly. The industry already pays no VAT, no fuel duty and only the most minimal charges for carbon under the EU ETS.  

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/2017/04/sweden-should-face-down-industry-myths-about-the-impact-of-an-air-travel-tax-and-impose-it/

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Sweden is making flying more expensive as of today –

3rd April 2018

As of today, the Swedish government’s proposed aviation tax is coming into effect. It will impose added emissions fees on airlines flying to or from Sweden, amounting to 60 SEK ($7) per domestic and EU flights and up to 400 SEK ($48) on longer routes. 

The tax is seen by the Social Democrat and Green Party-run coalition government as a a means to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The government is counting on 450 000–600 000 fewer airline passengers per year in Sweden as a result of the tax, which it says should lead to about 2 percent less emissions.

The tax proposal has raised fierce resistance from the aviation industry and local airlines in particular.

https://nordic.businessinsider.com/sweden-is-making-flying-more-expensive-with-a-contested-airline-tax–and-some-airlines-are-already-cancelling-routes–/

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