Spain wants private jet and fossil fuel tax to fight wildfires

Spain is urging the EU to tax private jets and fossil fuel company profits to fund a Europe-wide wildfire response and wider climate resilience measures. The Ministry for Ecological Transition, led by Sara Aagesen, has submitted a document to EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra proposing a permanent climate emergency response system, including a dedicated European aerial firefighting fleet. The plan follows Spain’s hottest summer on record, with temperatures 2.5°C above the seasonal average, and a severe wildfire season, including an Almería blaze that killed 14 people. Spain wants two funding mechanisms: a tax on luxury flights and a climate resilience tax on oil and gas profits. It also calls for binding adaptation targets and a public-private insurance model with climate risk bonds, citing €822 billion in extreme-weather losses since 1980.