Taylor Swift and other celebrities are being criticised for how much they use private jets. So how bad are they for the environment?

Data released last month showed the number of times the private jets of some of the world’s richest celebrities have taken to the skies.

The flight tracking information claimed singer-songwriters Taylor Swift was the most frequent flyer with her plane, which has completed 170 flights since January – the creation more than 400 times the average person’s total annual emissions.

“I love Taylor Swift but there’s no justification for using her private jet,” wrote one Twitter user.

“Celebrities and politicians should not be above the rest of us when it comes to climate change.”

So why are private jets such a concern and are they really that bad for the environment?

Angelina Jolie arrives in Myanmar on a private jet in 2015.(Reuters: Soe Zeya Tun)

What does the data show about celebrity jets?

In July, marketing agency Yard released data it collected from a flight-tracking bot it called celebrity jetswho regularly posts detailed flight information from private planes on Twitter.

This information was used to name celebrities who use their private jets extensively.

Like a lot.

boxer Floyd Mayweather‘s plane has flown more flights than Taylor Swift’s overall, averaging 25 flights per month — that’s nearly one flight per day.

However, Swift still topped the list of estimated emissions, closely followed by rappers like Mayweather drake and Jay Zinfluencer Kim Kardashian and director Steven Spielberg.

Chris Butterworth, Yard’s director of digital sustainability, said private jet owners are “a big part” of the airline industry’s emissions problem.

“Aviation is responsible for 2.4 percent of human-produced carbon each year, and research shows a huge gap between the super-rich and the rest of us in terms of flights, travel and even overall emissions,” he said.

How did the public react?

Social media was deluged with Taylor Swift memes shortly after the dates broke.

The singer received most of the backlash for topping the emissions list.

In response to the anger at Swift, some of her fans on Reddit apparently considered giving up beef to offset the musician’s carbon emissions.

A spokesman for Swift told a number of outlets that her jet is “regularly” loaned out to other people, so it’s not always used by her.

There was a similar setback in July as a model and influencer KylieJenner posted a photo of herself and her rapper partner Travis Scott with their private planes, along with the caption, “Will you take mine or yours?”

Flight data has also shown that Jenner’s plane makes very short trips, sometimes completing in less than half an hour.

One Twitter user said it showed her “absolute disregard for the planet.”

Jenner isn’t the only celebrity whose private jet has been spotted on very short flights.

Here’s a plane owned by the Tesla CEO and one of the richest people in the world. Elon Muskwith a nine-minute flight between San Jose and San Francisco – a distance that normally takes less than an hour’s drive.

And here’s a retired golfer Jack Nicklaus‘s plane takes an 18-minute flight and emits an estimated 1 tonne of CO2.

Some celebrities have defended such short flights by saying their planes are only being moved from one airport to another for logistical reasons.

This includes Drake, who owns an extensively modified Boeing 767.

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There was also controversy last year when a number of world leaders and delegates traveled to Scotland by private plane for the COP26 climate summit.

At the time, aeronautical analysis firm Cirium told the ` that a total of 76 private jet or VIP flights arrived in and around Glasgow over a four-day period.

A private jet lands in Prestwick, Scotland as world leaders gather for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).(Reuters: Dylan Martinez)

Are private jets really worse for the environment than other planes?

The short answer is yes, and that’s because of the smaller number of people on board.

Tim RyleyProfessor of Aviation at Griffith University, says while emissions vary depending on an aircraft’s size, efficiency and load, Private jets typically generate significantly more emissions per passenger than commercial flights.

what’s more Most aircraft emissions occur during takeoff and landingwhich is a problem given that private jets are often used very frequently.

“If you have more emissions from takeoff and landing than from the entire flight, that’s a lot with private jets,” says Professor Ryley.

Here are some statistics on how emissions from private aircraft are piling up:

• A 2021 study found that because private jets carry so few people, they can do this up to 14 times more polluting per passenger as commercial aircraft
• Private jets were also found 50 times more polluting than trains.
• Private aviation has been found to be responsible about 4 percent of global aviation emissions. It might not sound like much, but remember they are a lot worse in terms of emissions per person.
• Private flights are believed to help more than 33 tons of greenhouse gases per year – equivalent to about a third of Australia’s annual emissions from all modes of transport.

Private planes typically carry a much smaller number of passengers than typical commercial flights.(Reuters: Paulo Whitaker)

The Rise of “Flying Shame”

Susan BeckProfessor of sustainable tourism at Griffith University says private planes are “becoming a symbol of overconsumption and shame” amid an accelerating climate crisis.

Her work has explored the spread of flight shamea term that comes from Europe and captures the feeling of being ashamed of flying and, in some cases, sharing these feelings on social media, where the strongest language gets the most attention.

“The more polarized, the more emotional the language is, the more likely it is to be retweeted or liked,” she says.

“Now in Europe, people are really trying, sometimes even to hide, that they fly.”

Professor Ryley says the further a private jet owner’s lifestyle differs from that of an ordinary person, the more critical the general public is likely to be.

“There’s a growing movement to reach out to people who fly a lot and the emissions they create,” he says.

“The group that is particularly opposed to this type of use is small, but it is growing.”

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s private jet is seen in Schoenefeld, Germany, in September 2020.Reuters: Hannibal Haenschke)

Can we solve the private jet problem?

Professor Becken says that these are the two key mechanisms for people to change their behavior rising prices or Shift in societal normsdoes not see pricing as an effective strategy among wealthy private jet owners.

“With private jets, if you look at the fuel and operating costs compared to the jet, it would be so tiny that I just don’t see pricing as an effective mechanism,” she says.

Professor Ryley says the rise of electric planes will eventually help with the private jet problem, but it really comes down to changing societal norms.

“Of course there is a whole thing about air travel – what is essential travel and what is not. And which trips should people use or not? The public does not like ecological hypocrisy.

“There are people and celebrities who are spreading an environmental message, and they’re almost under scrutiny.

“So there’s an element that they have to walk the talk, not just talk the conversation.”

Commercial frequent flyers are also a problem

Also, people who travel frequently, even on large commercial flights, can create a large amount of emissions.

Only studies have shown that a small percentage of people (usually in the single digits) emit more than half of global aviation emissions.

Professor Becken says that while “the private jet would be the pinnacle of frequent flyers,” some people who fly commercially contribute disproportionately to climate change.

“It’s not just celebrities with private jets, it’s people who fly 50 times a year,” she says.

“They don’t have a private jet, but they still unfairly contribute to climate change.”