Celebrities Private Jet Emissions

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Flying is in general the most carbon intensive way to travel per mile. Private plane travel is at an all time high; demand continues to outpace supply, and it's more accessible than ever. You've seen the headlines: celebrities' love of private air travel is an environmental nightmare. Yet as the ultra rich enter image-recovery mode--shifting responsibility to sponsors, friends, and renters--it's still business as usual when it comes to flights by private jets. ¹ Researchers pinpoint a potential guideline: to keep things sustainable, everyone on Earth should limit their carbon footprint to a grand total of 2.3 metric tons per year. As for a private jet? It emits 2 metric tons of carbon dioxide per hour. To put one ton of carbon emissions into context, it's equivalent to driving the circumference of the Earth one time. ²

10 celebs with the worst CO2 emissions

The real trouble with air travel is those flying privately. Private jets have a disproportionate impact on the environment. Private jets are the worst offenders for emissions per passenger. It's a particularly popular form of travel among celebrities, who often opt for incredibly short-haul flights instead of choosing a more environmentally friendly alternative. ³ Leonardo DiCaprio made headlines in 2021 for flying commercial to COP26 in Glasgow. While he may have (finally) ditched the private plane, DiCaprio then rang in 2022 aboard another climate calamity, a luxury super yacht that generates an estimated 7,018 metric tons of emissions per year. If Leo's holiday super yacht tells us anything, it's that we can't rely on the CO2 self-restraint of even the most well intentioned millionaires (or billionaires). ¹ In the first half of 2022, 10 celebrities planes released a staggering 3,376 metric tons of carbon emissions. That's about 482 times more than the average person's annual emissions. Average flight times came in at just 71.77 minutes with an average 66.92 miles traveled per flight. Here are the 10 celebs with the worst CO2 emissions based on how often they use their private plane ³:

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A number of celebrities don't 'walk the walk' when it comes to climate change—they just 'talk the talk

For context: It takes one person about a year to create two tons of CO2 emissions and a typical passenger vehicle emits about 4.6 tons of CO2 per year. ² A number of celebrities don't 'walk the walk' when it comes to climate change—they just 'talk the talk'. These prominent personalities demand people scale back their lifestyles and accept Spartan living. All the while these same celebrities enjoy rich and lavish lifestyles in huge mansions, private jets and yachts ⁴ The celebrity jet thing is infuriating because how many times have we been screamed at to use reusable bags, paper straws, make sure to recycle, turn lights off, etc., just for multi-millionaires to take a quick flight from LA to other parts of LA. ⁵

References

1. Beatriz Barros & Richard Wilk, "The outsized carbon footprint of the super-rich," tandfonline.com, February 8, 2021
2. Leslie Finlay, "Here's how bad Taylor Swift's and other celebrities private jet emissions really are for the environment," buzzfeednews.com, August 16, 2022
3. Yard Digital PR Team, "Just plane wrong: celebs with the worst private jet CO2 emissions," July 29, 2022, weareyard.com
4. Pierre Gosselin, “Shameful celebrities preach low-energy lifestyles but in fact have monster carbon dioxide emissions,” notrickszone.com, March 7, 2016
5. Isabelle Docto, "Cool your jets: 10 celebrities with the worst private plane CO2 emissions," dailyhive.com, August 3, 2022