BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – According to a study commissioned by the environmental protection organization Greenpeace, a long-haul flight in upper First and Business classes is four to five times more harmful to the climate than in economy class. The reason is the higher space requirement. Even in the slightly better premium economy class, the climate-damaging impact is still 50 percent higher.
Greenpeace for climate tax for better places
Greenpeace called for a climate tax on high-quality tickets, citing France and Great Britain as role models. “Longing your legs in first and business class while the world goes up in flames below is reckless,” explained Lena Donat from the environmental organization. “Anyone who wants to travel in such a climate-damaging way at the expense of all of us should also have to pay appropriately for it. Germany and the EU as a whole need a climate tax on such wasteful tickets as quickly as possible.”
For the study, the Berlin think tank T3 analyzed the long-haul flights of 24 airlines departing from 44 European countries in 2024. The average emissions per ticket sold were determined based on occupancy. According to the data, first and business class passengers make up only 14 percent of all travelers on these long-haul flights, but account for 36 percent of their emissions.
Flying is the most climate-damaging way to travel
Flying is by far the most climate-damaging way to travel. The black-red coalition recently decided to reduce the ticket tax in air transport on July 1, 2026 – which earned it sharp criticism from climate activists.
According to the Premium Flyers Solidarity Coalition, only one percent of the world’s population is responsible for more than half of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions from commercial aviation. At the same time, “premium” air travel has increased significantly: emissions from private aviation increased by 46 percent between 2019 and 2023./hrz/DP/nas