CO2 emissions from private jets are increasing rapidly, study shows

Very few people in the world can afford a private jet. Carbon dioxide emissions per person are huge, and the number of machines is increasing rapidly.

One study shows that CO2 emissions from private flights have increased by almost half in just a few years. According to data from the professional journal Communications, Earth and Environment, direct emissions increased by 46% between 2019 and 2023, from 107,000 tons to 15.6 million tons. These machines are usually used for short distances and can be easily covered by car or train.

Private aviation routes in 2023

There are 4.3 million direct flights between cities.Bild: Communications, Earth and Environment

“This study confirms that the super-rich have a huge CO2 footprint,” said Nora Wissner of the Öko-Institut in Berlin, who was not involved in the analysis. Private jet owners are mainly older men over the age of 55 who work in the banking, finance or real estate industries. However, a large proportion of private jet flights are not for business but for leisure and vacation travel. “Given rising inequality and the growing climate crisis, we should regulate private air traffic more strictly.”

A team led by Stefan Gössling of Linnaeus University in Kalmar, Sweden, analyzed transponder data from thousands of private aircraft on the “ADS-B Exchange” platform. More than 18 million flights have been recorded, with a total of 26,000 private jets. The data relates to the average fuel consumption of 72 types of aircraft used primarily to transport people.

The number of private jets is particularly high during major sporting, cultural or political events: during the period studied, first place was the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, followed by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2023, the film festival Cannes and the World Climate Conference in Dubai in December.

Football World Cup, Super Bowl and Cannes become popular flight destinations

Researchers looked at some of the incidents in detail and found some overlap: of the 766 private jets associated with the Cannes Film Festival, 172 were also spotted at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Of the 409 private jets taking part in the 2022 Men's World Cup in Qatar, 66 are taking part in the 2023 Super Bowl in the United States and 96 are taking part in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai.

By far the majority of private jets (more than 18,000, or two-thirds of all aircraft) are registered in the United States. Followed by Brazil, Canada and Germany. Malta is the country with the largest fleet of private jets per capita.

These are usually short-haul flights

Almost half of the flights cover a maximum distance of 500 kilometers. “In many cases, private aviation appears to be replacing cars for reasons of time or convenience, as shown by the 4.7% share of ultra-short-haul flights under 50 kilometers,” Gössling's team explains. Since 2019, the total number of private jets has increased by 6.45% annually, and the number of kilometers flown has increased by 11.31% annually.

According to data, only 0.003% of the world’s population uses private jets. Their carbon dioxide emissions account for approximately 1.8% of commercial aviation emissions. Gosling's team concluded: “Regulations are necessary to take into account the industry's growing climate impact.”

Private jets are generally outside the scope of the European emissions trading, as this defines minimum and minimum annual emissions, which private jets generally cannot meet. They also receive a de facto subsidy because they pay no energy tax or value-added tax in most countries.

It should be noted that carbon dioxide emissions account for only a third of the climate impact of flying, plus factors such as contrails, nitrogen oxides and water vapor emissions. “Private aviation is the most energy-intensive form of air transport,” say researchers. (dpa/chm) (bzbasel.ch)

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