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With the subject of climate change arguably more urgent than ever before, a new report has revealed that UK private jet travel contributes 1 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere per year - the same amount that 450,000 cars create in the same timeframe.

According to a study published by the Common Wealth thinktank, a Jeremy Corbyn backed organisation, in 2018 alone there were 128,000 private jet flights between the UK and EU (6% of all UK air traffic). It also found that private jet passengers create ten times as much greenhouse gas as an economy class traveller on a commercial flight, as well as 150 times more than those travelling by train.

In response, Common Wealth has called for a ban on all private jet travel by 2025, in the hopes that it will help cut down on harmful private jet travel and encourage companies to create greener alternatives - including electric-based airplanes.

Private jets in the public eye

While people in the public eye have chosen to use their platforms to help highlight the issues at stake, many have been criticised for their own carbon footprints, particularly the use of private jets, which Greenpeace UK told the Evening Standard are “a whole order of magnitude worse” for the environment than taking a commercial flight.

The secretive Google Camp in Sicily, which took place at the end of July and was nicknamed 'Davos-on-Sea', came under fire after experts estimated how much it cost the environment to ferry the VIP attendees to the camp.

Reported Google Camp guests included former President Barack Obama, actor and environmental charity founder Leonardo DiCaprio, Katy Perry and a 'barefoot' Prince Harry, who allegedly gave a keynote speech calling climate change “a humanitarian issue, not a political one”.

Despite the camp's focus on saving the environment, Italian media reported that 114 private jets took guests to and from the event at a luxury hotel in Sicily.

Harry and his wife Meghan came under fire after it was claimed they had flown four times in eleven days on private jets.

This prompted Sir Elton John to come to the royal couple's defence following their most recent return trip between Nice and England. He revealed that he had provided the couple with the flight to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection”.

Sir Elton also revealed that he had taken Prince Harry’s position as a staunch environmentalist into account, adding, “To support Prince Harry’s commitment to the environment, we ensured their flight was carbon neutral, by making the appropriate contribution to Carbon Footprint™.”

Prince Harry has previously talked at length publicly about the need to protect the environment, writing on Instagram that "every choice, every footprint, every action makes a difference."

The prince, who interviewed environmental activist Jane Goodall for an issue of British Vogue guest-edited by Meghan Markle, said during the piece that he wants two children "maximum" and continued, "I’ve always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation."

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Chief Scientist for Greenpeace UK Dr. Doug Parr explained why taking a private jet is one of the most environmentally damaging ways to travel. Calling flying in general the “most carbon-intensive mode of transport”, he said, “This varies according to the model of plane and the number of passengers, but as a rough guide, private jets are approximately ten times as polluting as airliners per passenger mile.”

“Given that airliners are themselves are up to ten times as polluting as trains, one mile in a private jet could be worse for the climate than a hundred mile train journey,” he continued.

The New York Post crunched the numbers in its coverage of Google Camp, calculating what the CO2 emissions would have been had the 114 attendees chosen to fly first class on a commercial flight instead of on a private jet.

The paper found that had the guests chosen to fly commercial, they would have collectively contributed an estimated 784,000 kg of CO2 into the air. Given Parr estimates that a private jet is approximately "ten times as polluting" as a commercial jet, the CO2 emissions would be far higher.

In his defence of Harry and Meghan, Sir Elton John name-checked his use of the company Carbon Footprint.

Carbon Footprint™ is a firm that specialises in carbon offsetting, which aims to help individuals reduce their carbon footprints by contributing to tree planting initiatives, renewable/efficient energy projects and other carbon neutral businesses. The company claims it is "carbon neutral" and additionally has a number of certifications from the International Organisation for Standardisation regarding its "environmental management system" and "quality management system".

Though while carbon offsetting is better than doing nothing at all to counteract your emissions, Parr explained that carbon offsetting does have “a whole range of different problems”.

“It’s very difficult to do reliably, making sure emissions cuts are genuine and permanent,” he said.

On a more global level, Parr also pointed out, “Also, it doesn’t fit with a net zero future, where all countries and industries need to actually cut their emissions, not just trade them back and forth.”

The UK is committed to net zero emissions by 2050, aiming to be completely carbon neutral in 31 years. Many other countries have also pledged to join the Paris Agreement, which sets individual goals for countries to contribute to the climate change effort. Signatories also include China and South Korea.

Beyond those travelling on private jets, Greenpeace UK condemned the harmful impact of Britain’s transport sector with Parr claiming that it had “done almost nothing to reduce its emissions so far”.

In June, Heathrow Airport unveiled its plans to add a third runway by 2026 which would see even more flights depart from the seventh busiest airport in the world. In 2018 alone, Heathrow Airport reported that it saw on average 1,303 air transport movements per day.

Parr said, “The most important measure we need is for the government to cancel high-carbon infrastructure like Heathrow’s third runway, but on an individual level we can all help by reducing the number of flights we take.”

He continued, “In a climate emergency, everyone needs to reduce their carbon emissions wherever possible.”

To learn more about our current climate emergency and how to help, you can head to Greenpeace UK for more information and to make a donation. To find out how to reduce your carbon footprint, you can read our guide here.

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