The number of private jet flights has increased rapidly in recent years, resulting in a 50 percent increase in climate-warming emissions, the most comprehensive global analysis to date has found.
The assessment tracked more than 25,000 private jets and approximately 19 million flights from 2019 to 2023. They found that almost half of the jets were used for journeys of less than 500 kilometers (311 miles), and 900,000 were used “like taxis” for journeys of less than 50 kilometers (31 miles). Many of the flights were for vacation, arriving in sunny locations during the summer. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar attracted more than 1,800 commercial flights.
Civil aviation, used by just 0.003 percent of the world’s population, is the most polluting mode of transportation. Researchers have found that passengers on large private jets emit more CO2 in an hour than the average person does in a year.
The US dominated private jet travel, accounting for 69% of flights, with Canada, the UK and Australia all in the top 10. Private jets take off every 6 minutes In England. In 2023, private jets produced more than 15 million tons of emissions, more than the emissions of 60 million Tanzanians.
Industry expectations include: 8,500 more business jets is scheduled to enter service by 2033, which far outweighs the efficiency gains and represents a further increase in civil aviation emissions. The researchers say their study highlights global inequalities in emissions between the rich and poor, and that efforts to reduce emissions among the wealthy few will help stop global warming. said that it is important.
“Wealthy people make up a very small proportion of the population, but their emissions are increasing very rapidly and at very large levels,” said study leader Stefan Goessling, a professor at Linnaeus University in Sweden. He added: “The increase in global emissions that we are experiencing at the moment is comes from above”
In the research, Published in Communications Earth & Environmental magazineData was obtained from. ADS-B exchange platformrecords the signal sent by every plane’s transponder once a minute and records its position and altitude. This huge dataset (1.8 terabytes) was filtered for 72 airplane models sold by their manufacturers as “business jets.” The emissions figure is likely an underestimate, as it does not include emissions from small aircraft or ground travel.
The analysis found that between 2019 and 2023, the number of private jets increased by 28 percent and the number of miles flown jumped by 53 percent. Less than a third of flights exceeded 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), and almost 900,000 flights were shorter than 50 kilometers. (31 miles).
“We know that some people actually use them as taxis,” Goessling said. “It’s only 50 kilometers, so you can definitely drive there.” Outside of the US and Europe, Brazil, the Middle East and the Caribbean are hotspots for private jets.
Researchers found that many of the uses were for leisure purposes. For example, private jet usage to Ibiza, Spain, and Nice, France peaked in the summer and was concentrated on weekends. In the United States, taylor swift, drakeFloyd Mayweather Jr., Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, etc. Criticized for frequent use of private jets.
The researchers also looked at several business events in 2023. 660 private jet flights took place at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and 291 flights took place at the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai.
Gosling said the factors behind the recent large increase in private jet usage have not been analyzed, but could include a growing reluctance to share cabins on commercial aircraft that began during the coronavirus pandemic. said. Industry documentation explains: private jet user The “ultra-high net worth” group consists of approximately 250,000 people, with an average wealth of $123 million. US private jet users are increasinglyPrivacy ICAO AddressThis hides the plane’s identity and could make it more difficult to track in the future.
Passengers will have to pay climate damage, estimated at around 200 euros ($25,000) for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted, Goessling said. “Very fundamentally, it seems fair for people to pay for the harm their actions have caused.”
The second step, he added, would be to increase landing fees for commercial aircraft, which are currently very low. A landing fee of 5,000 euros ($5,351) could be an effective deterrent, about twice the cost of a typical commercial flight.
Alecia Warrington, head of aviation at climate change charity Possible, said: “Private jets, used by a small number of ultra-wealthy people, have very little emissions budget left to avoid climate change, and they have no impact on their emissions at all.” “It’s an unfair and unwarranted waste.” The population is rapidly increasing, even as the effects of the climate crisis are growing. ”
“It’s time for the government to act,” she said. “We need super tax increases and we will quickly reach a complete ban on private jets.”
The American Civil Aviation Association did not respond to a request for comment.
