Higher flight costs coming in Germany to curb emissions

Germany’s main political parties are coalescing around proposals to increase the cost of flying, potentially doubling the tax on short-haul flights to slash greenhouse gas pollution. Alarmed that the country is falling short of emissions-reductions pledges it made under the Paris Agreement on climate change, chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats are drawing up policies with their Social Democrat coalition partners and focusing on air transport for some of the most dramatic reductions. A proposal by Merkel’s CDU to double levies on domestic flights was announced by the party’s finance expert, Andreas Jung. They’re part of a broader package that ministers are due to consider at a Sept 20 meeting of Merkel’s cabinet meeting dealing with climate policies. <br/>