Carbon pollution from private jets has increased in the last five years. Most of those small planes emit more carbon dioxide in two hours of flight than the average person emits in a year, according to a new study.
Nearly a quarter of a million super-rich—with a total wealth of $31 billion—emitted 17.2 million tons of carbon dioxide flying on private jets last year.according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. That’s almost the same number as the 67 million people who live in Tanzania.
Private jet emissions increased 46% from 2019 to 2023according to the European research team that calculated those figures after examining more than 18.6 million flights of some 26,000 aircraft for five years.
Only 1.8% of aviation carbon pollution is emitted by private jets, and that industry as a whole generates about 4% of the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities, the study indicates.
It might seem like a small amount, but it’s a question of equity and priorities, said Stefan Gossling, a transportation researcher at Sweden’s Linnaeus University business school and lead author of the study.
“The damage is done by those with a lot of money, and the cost is paid by those with very little”Gossling said.
The highest-emitting private jet user the team tracked — but did not identify by name — emitted 2,645 tons of carbon dioxide from using the planeGossling said. That’s more than 500 times the global average per person of 5.2 tons that the World Bank estimates, or the 4.7 tons that the International Energy Agency estimates and that Gossling cites.
“This report presents more evidence that billionaires are responsible for the climate crisis,” said Jonathan Westin, executive director of the advocacy organization Climate Organizing Hub. “They cling to their private jets and oil profits while ordinary people watch floods, hurricanes and wildfires increase.”
At the beginning of this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated that the top 1% of the world’s super-emitters had carbon footprints more than 1,000 times larger than the world’s poorest 1%.
In Gossling’s study accounted for more than 35,600 tons of carbon pollution in just five global events: the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the World Economic Forum 2023he Super Bowl 2023the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and the 2023 United Nations climate negotiations in Dubai. This was generated by 3,500 flights on private jets.
“It is a macabre joke that the billionaire class flies in private jets to the annual climate conferences; the United Nations should crack down on this hypocritical practice,” said Jean Su, director of energy justice at the Center for Biological Diversity.
The researchers also examined more than 1,200 flights of famous actors, singers and directorsbut Gossling declined to name the public figures.
Many private flights are not even for business “nor are they necessary,” Gossling said. “Very often they are related to lifestyle.”
While the study “sheds a bright light on some of the most gluttonous emitters, that is, the very rich”University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann said the focus should not be on individual behaviors and anyone’s carbon footprint. He called that “a distraction from the main task, which is to decarbonize our social infrastructure through systematic changes and policies.”
That’s the problem, Gossling said.
“We have been told for a long time that it is the system that needs to change, not the individual”Gossling said. “Therefore, no one has taken responsibility for their lifestyle”.
“The problem is that the 26,000 planes and the individuals who use them will say ‘We’re just a small group. We are not relevant in terms of emissions.’ But everyone else will look at the small group and say, ‘Look, these are the super broadcasters, if they’re not relevant, how can we be?’” Gossling said. “And then you have two different groups accusing each other, which locks us into a circular argument.”
About 51% of those private jets burn at least 239 gallons of fuel per hour. That translates to more carbon emissions in two hours and one minute than the IEA’s estimate of the average person’s annual amount of 4.7 tons of pollutants, according to the study’s calculations.
“Given that technology is not going to solve (climate change), I think the answer is clear. We need to start at the top,” Gossling said.
The scientist said the way to address emissions from private jets is to charge a tax or landing fee equal to the damage caused by each ton of emissions. That’s about $200. Westin called for a ban on private jets.
USA It is by far the center of private jets, with more than 68% of the world’s private planes, about five out of every 100,000 people, according to the study. But Gossling said private jets are everywhere, even in poor countries.
In the United States, the majority of private jet flights per person are in Alaska, with nearly 5,000 per 100,000 residents, according to a different study by the student travel company Rustic Pathways.