Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the Paris agreement, has called on governments to consider imposing taxes on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies to raise funds for tackling the climate crisis. Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation and co-lead of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, argued that such technologies are highly energy-intensive and should contribute to climate efforts.
She said cryptocurrency should "certainly" be taxed, while levies on AI should be examined. Bitcoin alone consumes the equivalent of Poland's annual energy output, and AI is also placing pressure on electricity supplies. Tubiana acknowledged that taxing AI could be difficult, as companies might relocate data centres, but noted that central bankers had shown interest. She also pointed to financial stability concerns and the use of crypto in organised crime.
The task force has secured an initial agreement among eight countries to impose new charges on business and first-class airline tickets and private jets. The countries are France, Spain, Kenya, Barbados, Somalia, Benin, Sierra Leone, and Antigua and Barbuda. French President Emmanuel Macron urged more nations to join, saying these sectors benefit from globalisation and should support the common fight against climate change. If major economies participated, the taxes could raise €147bn a year.
Tubiana said there was an element of justice in taxing aviation, as drivers pay tax on cars while air travellers do not. Private jet use rose by almost 50% between 2019 and 2023, and premium-class travel has recovered more quickly than economy after the pandemic. She was "reasonably optimistic" about a planned carbon tax on shipping, with further talks in October, and the task force is also exploring a levy on stock market share purchases, potentially raising €105bn a year.
Rebecca Newsom of Greenpeace International's Stop Drilling Start Paying campaign urged the task force to go further and tax fossil fuel production, citing public support for making oil and gas corporations pay as people suffer from floods, storms and wildfires.
