Reacción a "CO2 emissions caused by private flights increased by 46 % between 2019 and 2023"

We know that the richest 10% of the population is responsible for 50% of emissions. This tells us that the most effective way to fight climate change does not necessarily lie in changing the habits of the majority of the population, but in moderating the lifestyle of the top 10%. An example of this type of action can be found in private flights, which are regularly taken by some 256,000 people. This represents 0.003% of the global population, but they emit the equivalent of 1.8% of all aviation emissions. In other words, the emissions from private flights of 0.003 % of the population emit in proportion 600 times more than those of the rest of the population.

The article shows that emissions by this small percentage of tycoons and tycoons have risen over the period 2019-2022. As I point out in my recent book Ecomitos, in many countries we find increases in emissions at the national level, but they are only due to increases in emissions from the wealthiest sectors.

The event with the highest number of private flights was the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar, with 1,846 flights and almost 15,000 tons of CO₂ emitted, followed by the Davos Forum (660 planes) and the Cannes Film Festival (644 flights). Paradoxically, last year's UN climate change mitigation meeting in Dubai (COP28) was also one of the events with the highest number of private flights (291 flights). Nearly a quarter of all the planes that flew to COP28 also flew to the World Cup final. However, we cannot know if the people were the same, as many of these flights are charters.

Finally, it is worth noting that most of the flights take place during the weekend, which indicates an eminently festive and not work-related use. The average emissions of each of these round-trip flights are higher than those of a Spanish citizen for an entire year. Reducing emissions in the most emitting group is as urgent as it is imperative if we want to mitigate climate change.