BERN, SWITZERLAND – The WWF environmental group in Switzerland is calling on the country’s politicians to start taxing airline tickets, following what it calls the complete failure of international efforts to address the problem of air travel’s impact on the environment. Aviation today accounts for 16 percent of air pollution in Switzerland, a figure that will climb to 22 percent by 2020.

WWF climate and energy specialist Patrick Hofstetter argues that air traffic is “extremely damaging” to the environment and yet airlines remain heavily subsidized. Switzerland’s neighbours, he points out, tax air tickets on the basis of the polluter must pay, but Swiss authorities, says Hofstetter, have held back, waiting for an international solution under the guidance of UN agency OACI.