Last week, Kylie Jenner landed herself in hot water after posting pictures of herself on Instagram, posing in front of two private jets, with the caption “you wanna take mine or yours?”
Jenner’s blatant disregard for the massive amounts of carbon emissions released by the private jets did not go down well with climate and environmental activists across the world.
Yes, we would all like to hop on a plane and visit some exotic island or historic city and we can’t blame celebrities for wanting to do the same but we have to look at the negative impacts of using private jets, especially for short journeys.
While we’re stuck in economy class, with no leg room and a baby who won’t stop screaming for the entirety of the flight, celebrities are living the lavish life and flying away in their private jets.
It might seem like they’re living an enviable lifestyle, having the option to jet off whenever their heart desires but the choice to fly privately comes with a huge environmental impact.
Research from a sustainability-driven digital marketing agency, Yard, found that so far this year, through their private jet usage, the average celebrity has created 3 256.36 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
To put that into perspective, that is more than 465 times what the average American creates – seven tonnes of CO2 emissions a year flying commercially.
Let's have a look at the top 10 celebrities who are the biggest climate change offenders, emitting the most emissions through their private jet usage, and Kylie Jenner didn’t even make the list.
10. Travis Scott
At number 10, we have Kylie Jenner’s partner, rapper Travis Scott, who averages just over 3 000 tonnes of emissions a year. Yard found that Scott’s total flight time for 2022 was 8 384 minutes, just under six days on his private jet, and we’re only seven months into the year.
His average flight journey is just 11.7km which is equivalent to a 10-minute car ride.
9. Oprah Winfrey
Ninth place goes to our beloved Oprah Winfrey whose 68 private jet journeys cost the climate 3 493.17 tonnes of CO2 flight emissions this year. In 2022, 499 times more than the average person.
Oprah’s shortest flight time this year was 14 minutes which alone created one tonne of CO2 emissions.
8. Mark Wahlberg
Eighth on the list is American actor Mark Whalberg who has emitted 3 735 tonnes of carbon emissions this year over 65 flights. The actor’s total flight time is 10 324 minutes, which means he has spent more than a week in the air this year.
Mark frequently shares photos of himself and his friends on his private jet on his Instagram, namely of them taking shots mid-air of his brand of tequila.
7. Kim Kardashian
In 2022 alone, Kardashian’s jet emitted 4 268.5 tonnes of carbon emissions over 57 flights which is 609.8 times more than the average person emits in a year.
Kim’s average flight time is 85.49 minutes, for an average journey length of 160km with her shortest flight being just 23 minutes.
6. Steven Spielberg
Our next offender is renowned movie director Steven Spielberg who has emitted 4 465 tonnes of CO2 over 61 flights. Steven has the longest average flight time on this list, at an hour and 47 minutes.
His total time spent flying on his private jet this year is 12 341 minutes, meaning he’s spent nearly nine days in the air.
5. Blake Shelton
American country music singer, Blake Shelton, spent 12 424 minutes in the air, emitting 4 495 tonnes of carbon emissions over 111 flights, that is just under four private jet flights a week.
4. A-Rod
An American household name and ex-partner of Jennifer Lopez, basketball player A-Rod has taken 106 private jet flights this year. With an average of 80 minutes per flight, A-Rod has created 5 342 tonnes of carbon emissions since January.
3. Jay-Z
Beyonce’s other half takes the third spot on this list. Jay-Z has taken 136 flights this year and spent nearly two weeks in the air. He has emitted 6 981.3 tonnes of CO2 on his private jet, which is 997.3 times more than the average person’s yearly emissions.
2. Floyd Mayweather
Boxer Floyd Mayweather takes the silver medal, emitting 7076.8 tonnes of CO2 from his private jet this year alone. Mayweather has amassed more flights than any other celebrity on this list, taking 177 so far this year, which averages out to be 25 flights a month or just under a day. Floyd also has the shortest flight time on the list which was a pitiful 10 minutes.
1. Taylor Swift
Taking the number one spot is the wholesome queen Taylor Swift. Shockingly, Taylor has created more carbon emissions than any other celebrity, at 8 293 tonnes. Racking up a total of 170 flights on her private jet since January, Taylor has amassed a vast 22 923 minutes in the air or 15.9 days. Taylor’s average flight time is 80 minutes with an average of 139.36 miles a flight.
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