Egyptian sources have corroborated widespread claims that some 400 private jets landed during COP 27. Some media cited lower estimates by flight trackers, though there may have been private flights that were not logged by monitoring services. Posts and reports included various estimates for the number of such planes bringing delegates to the gathering in the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Several social media posts chastised delegates for flying to Egypt for the COP27, the latest in a series of recurring claims aimed at the UN climate summit. Those taking private jets to and from COP24 include Jeff Bezos, Prince Charles, and Boris Johnson, who was criticized for flying back to London to attend a dinner on Wednesday evening. Others made an exit to Cannes in the south of France and Bern in Switzerland, according to flights tracked by FlightRadar24.
Per capita, the 80 million richest people in the world will account for 16% of total emissions globally by 2030, up from 13% in 1990. This criticism of private jets comes as new research shows the luxury lifestyles of the richest 1% could jeopardize targets to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.
Scientists say climate change caused by humans burning fossil fuels is worsening devastating disasters, including floods, heatwaves, and droughts, and is likely to intensify in the decades to come if emissions are not cut.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish.” UN chief Antonio Guterres
Private jets are, by far, the most inefficient way to travel, and many have pointed out the hypocrisy of turning up to a summit on climate change on something that is contributing to its very cause. Flying a private jet between Glasgow and Rome, where many leaders were previously attending the G20 summit, emits roughly six tons of CO2 per flight, though estimates vary according to aircraft and weight.