For anything that we do, we should always consider environmental concerns. That way, we can take care of the world we call home. We should save it from destruction so future generations can enjoy and experience what we do today. A planet where humans are in total harmony with nature is what climate activists are fighting for. They dream of a place where we can live in prosperity without causing harm to the environment.
The Carbon Footprint From Private Aviation
One step to doing that is reducing our carbon footprint. The reduction of greenhouse gases will be a great way to fight global warming. With the rate the polar caps are melting right now, cutting off carbon emissions should necessarily be done.
This is why some of the front liners on this fight are facing backlash. They are being called out for their hypocrisy. People are angry at them because they kept talking about these things, but they do not seem to be doing their part—the main issue – their private planes.
Relative to the seats in private jets, they emit a higher amount of carbon than commercial planes. It has been estimated to be about 40 times as much carbon per passenger on commercial flights. Therefore, climate activists are infuriated about how famous environmentalists like John Kerry are still using private jets for transportation.
John Kerry
During a Washington Post Livestream, John Kerry, the 1st United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, delivered a speech about the world’s environmental problems.
He stated that to achieve the goal of restoring Earth; all countries must cooperate. He said that even if the emissions in the United States drop to zero, climate change will still be a big problem because other parts of the world still emit carbon. He implied that one or two countries successfully cutting emissions are not considered victories but small steps to achieve the greater goal.
It was such an inspiring speech if only no controversies are surrounding him. Activists ask how emissions will go to zero if people like him still refuse to stop traveling via private planes.
For instance, he received a climate leadership award in 2019 in Iceland. To do so, he traveled using his private jet. Kerry said that it is the only way for someone like him to travel the world in his defense. He even claimed that it has to be done if we want to win this battle against environmental problems.
Of course, environmentalists did not buy this, especially with the information that over 11 months, Kerry’d private jet has spent a total of 20 hours flying. It was estimated to leave a carbon footprint of 116 metric tons. With this figure, activists are calling him a fraud. All he does is talk about greenhouse emissions and how to reduce them. Still, he, himself, is contributing to the problem, especially when his fellow environmentalist Greta Thunberg has opted to use a sailboat as means of traveling across the Atlantic Ocean.
Mike Bloomberg
Like Kerry, former New York City Mayor and now United Nations Climate envoy Mike Bloomberg also received criticisms.
In one of his speeches, Bloomberg revealed that the Biden administration’s new climate goal is to reduce greenhouse emissions by more than 50 percent of what we have now by 2030. He stated that it shows how serious the administration is about leading on the climate crisis “Cities, businesses, and other local organizations have been leading the fight and making important progress through groups like America Is All In. Now, they have the chance to go further and faster if the federal government backs them with resources and support,” he added.
Climate activists have even more addition to his speech. Their version would look like something like, “Now, they have the chance to go further and faster if the federal government backs them with resources and support. Officials abandoning their private jets will also help speed up the progress.”
A business Insider analysis found that from August 2016 to the same month in 2020, Bloomberg’s private jets have been on 1,700 trips. On estimates, the trips have emitted at least 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
One can use the emissions from cars to see how harmful 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide is. For traveling 2500 miles, a vehicle can release one metric ton of carbon dioxide. So, a car traveling for 25,000,000 miles will have the same greenhouse gas output as the trips made by Bloombergs’s jets.
Unlike Kerry, Bloomberg cannot use the excuse of having the private jets as the only form of long-form travel available to him. People believe that he can’t be present on all of these flights, and he is using them for other purposes.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is another well-known environmentalist. In 2007, he created the feature-length documentary “The 11th Hour.” The documentary showcases how human activities are affecting the planet and causing environmental problems. Aside from that, he used his chance to talk about climate change concerns whenever possible. For instance, when he received his Oscars Award in 2016, he included the environmental problems we are facing in his speech.
He said that the making of The Revenant was about the relationship of humans to the natural world. They have uncovered truths and evidence about how bad the world’s current climate condition is during filming. He told in his story that they had to move to the southern tip of the planet to find snow.
“Climate change is real, (and) it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating,” DiCaprio said.
On Earth Day this year, Dicaprio has released another statement. He encouraged people to act and join him in demanding bold & credible climate action in a tweet that he posted. The tweet also included a link to the United Nations’ climate action webpage in the tweet.
However, Dicaprio uses yachts and private jets to attend events which made other activists throw glares at him.
Private Aviation’s Response to The Problem
Companies in the private aviation industry do not deny that climate change is a problem, and they are contributing to it. But, in their defense, they say that commercial flights are more of a problem than they are. Carter Copeland of Melius Research stated this in an interview. He said that yes, each private jets emits more carbon than commercial planes relative to the number of passengers they carry. However, commercial airlines see more activity than private aviation. So, yearly, their carbon footprint pales in comparison.
That does not mean that the industry is not doing anything regarding the matter. There have been multiple efforts to create jet models that are cost-effective and less harmful to the environment. The world should wait for their completion and hope for their success. If they do, then the private aviation industry will sort this problem out.
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