A new study is showing just how much damage American private jets are doing to the environment, according to The Washington Post.
The study by the International Council on Clean Transportation showed that private jets departing from the United States accounted for 65% of global private jet flights and 55% of total private jet emissions. By the ICCT's tally, a private jet emits as much as 177 cars in a year. In 2023, private jets collectively emitted more carbon dioxide than all commercial flights from Heathrow Airport, according to the report.
Other research concurs that private jets are quite bad for the environment. These emissions contribute to increasingly destructive weather patterns like droughts and floods. This pollution also acidifies and warms oceans. The added heat trapped by greenhouse gases hastens polar ice melt, which ultimately raises sea levels. An outside expert commented on the implications of the ICCT study.
"The very important insight is that the global growth in emissions is coming from the top, from more people entering the very affluent classes that can afford private aviation," said Stefan Gössling, professor of Human Ecology at Lund University, per The Washington Post.
"That is a trend that is quite powerful and ongoing and will mean that we will not be able to meet our climate goals simply because there's so much growth in the system that we cannot compensate."
As challenging as the situation is, the ICCT did advocate for one solution. It suggested that taxing private jet flights or their emissions could generate revenue to support aviation decarbonization. It estimates that $3 billion could be raised annually for the cause.
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Some jurisdictions have already started inhibiting private jets. France has banned short-haul flights in favor of rail travel, for example. In general, opting for sustainable travel options like rail is the best way an individual can reduce their emissions.
The reaction on Reddit to the ICCT report was fiery.
"47 of these monstrosities flew in tho Bezos's wedding," said one reader. "We're saving kitchen scraps and they're blowing 177 car trips in an afternoon."
"Tax the rich, heavily," said another.
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