Environment and Sustainability
Celebrities, uber-rich in hot water amid flight emission reports
Celebrities, uber-rich in hot water amid flight emission reports
Study shows that only 1 percent of people cause 50 percent of global aviation emissions
By Mat Richter
The average person emits four tons of carbon dioxide annually, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research states, but certain high-profile individuals, notably those excessively using private jets, were said to emit a thousand times more.
UK-based sustainability marketing agency Yard drew flak on social media after publishing a flight data analysis that lists celebrities with the “most private jet emissions in 2022.”
Note that the list excludes non-celebrities and wealthy individuals with excessive private jet usage. The emission figures also don’t reflect celebrities’ total carbon footprint, and "there is no way to determine if these celebrities were on all the recorded flights.”
While Yard only aimed to “highlight the damaging impact of private jet usage,” the analysis still underscores an alarming trade-off between convenience and sustainability — one where the comfort of the uber-rich plagues the planet.
MyClimate.org, a nonprofit climate protection organization for calculating one’s carbon footprint, also released a list of people whose aviation allegedly emitted the most CO2 in 2023.
The organization gathered emissions data from public domain trackers, as well as celebrities and influencers’ social media posts.
"The MyClimate Carbon Tracker posts critical, direct queries on social media. We only use data that celebrities themselves publish," the organization wrote on its website.
Convenience over sustainability?
Despite the climate crisis, attaining zero-emission aviation still appears to be a distant accomplishment for the warming planet.
A study by Sweden’s Linnaeus University in 2020 found that a mere one percent of the global population, high-income fliers, is responsible for half of aviation emissions.
“The rich have had far too much freedom to design the planet according to their wishes. We should see the crisis as an opportunity to slim the air transport system,” explained Stefan Gossling, who led the study.
The reality, in turn, is crystal clear: Unless we reevaluate the aviation sector and demand accountability from ultra-wealthy individuals, including celebrities, tycoons, and politicians, the industry's contribution to climate change is bound to escalate.