On your jet or mine? Celebrities are pressured to abandon private flights

AFP

From American singer Taylor Swift to French businessman Bernard Arnault, social media has increased pressure on celebrities, political figures and big business to limit their travel in private jets, responsible for a significant carbon footprint.

The topic became debated when media personality Kylie Jenner shared a photo of her and her partner, rapper Travis Scott, in front of two jets to her 364 million Instagram followers.

“In your [jatinho] Or mine?” Kim Kardashian’s sister wrote in the photo caption. Critics on social media called Jenner a “climate criminal”. As did Steven Spielberg, who was called a “pollutant and criminal” for taking a private flight of 28 minutes.

Countless memes have circulated mocking Taylor Swift following the recent publication of an analysis by marketing agency Yard, which ranked her as “the year’s most polluting celebrity”, having flown 170 private flights.

Yard relied on data from the “Celebrity Jets” Twitter account, which tracks celebrities’ flights through public data available online.

Jack Sweeney, a 19-year-old student, launched this account in 2020, following Elon Musk’s private jet. He now has 30 accounts tracking sports stars, Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg, and even Russian oligarchs.

The initiative served as inspiration for other accounts. Sebastien, a 35-year-old aerospace engineer who declined to give his real name, created the “I Fly Bernard” profile in April, which tracks flights by French billionaires, including Bernard Arnault, head of luxury giant LVMH.

“What I try to denounce is the use of private planes as taxis”, he explains to AFP, highlighting the numerous national or European flights carried out.

“In Europe, three-quarters of these flights could be made by train,” says William Todts, executive director of Transport & Environment, which brings together European NGOs in the sector.

BETWEEN 5 AND 14 TIMES MORE POLLUTANTS

The airline industry is responsible for between 2% and 3% of global CO2 emissions. But, according to a report by Transport & Environment, published in May, private flights generate a carbon footprint per passenger between 5 and 14 times higher than commercial flights and 50 times higher than trains.

Some celebrities reacted to the pressure on social media. Last week, a spokesperson for Taylor Swift told the press that she “regularly lends her jet to other people”.

“Assigning most or all of these flights to her is totally incorrect,” he said.

In France, a spokesman for the Bouygues group assured that the plane followed by the “I Fly Bernard”, presented as Martin Bouygues, belongs to the group and “is used by several collaborators”.

He also indicated that the plane’s CO2 emissions are offset by reforestation projects. This, according to critics, does not substantially reduce emissions.

Beatrice Jarrige, project leader of the Shift Project association, hopes that this movement will turn into political action.

“It’s not about banning flights altogether, but it is necessary for the richest to make an effort,” he specified.

In September 2021, the business aviation industry considered that sustainable fuels are “key” to achieving the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.