Swiss parliament votes for CO2 tax on air tickets

Switzerland’s parliament has voted in favour of introducing an environmental levy on airline tickets. The Swiss federal assembly says 135 of 195 members approved the proposal, which last year received support from a “large majority” in the nation’s lower chamber, the council of states, following “worldwide climate protests”. A similar proposal had been rejected by the federal assembly in late 2018. Under the new plan, passengers are to be charged between Swfr30 ($31) and Swfr120 per ticket “depending on distance and [travel] class”. The federal assembly says “nearly half” of the proceeds will flow into a climate fund for emissions-reduction initiatives, but has yet to determine how this will be used as details of the plan are “controversial”. Swiss regional carrier Helvetic Airways says it is “basically not opposed” to an environmental tax in principle, but argues that it should be applied at European or global level.<br/>