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. Critics on social media called Jenner a “climate criminal”.
“Pollutant and criminal,” read one tweet about director Steven Spielberg, who took a 28-minute flight.
Countless memes circulated mocking Taylor Swift after the publication, last Friday, of an analysis by the marketing agency Yard, which classified her as “the most polluting celebrity of the year”, having taken 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.
Jets are between 5 and 14 times more polluting
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 five 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.
