Private jet flights have exploded in recent years, resulting in a 50% increase in emissions linked to global warming, reveals the most comprehensive global analysis to date.

The assessment tracked more than 25,000 private jets and nearly 19 million flights between 2019 and 2023. It found that almost half of the jets flew less than 500 kilometers (311 miles) and 900,000 were used “like taxis” for journeys of less than 50 kilometers (31 kilometers). Many flights were for vacations and arrived in sunny locations in summer. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar attracted more than 1,800 private flights.

Private flights, used by only 0.003% of the world’s population, are the most polluting means of transport. Researchers found that passengers on larger private jets caused more CO2 emissions in an hour than the average person does in a year.

The United States dominates private jet travel, accounting for 69% of flights, and Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia were all in the top 10. a private jet takes off every six minutes in the United Kingdom. Total emissions from private jet flights in 2023 were more than 15 million tonnes, more than Tanzania’s 60 million population.

Industry expectations are as follows 8,500 other business jets will enter service by 2033, far outpacing efficiency gains and indicating that emissions from private flights will rise even further. The researchers said their work highlighted the vast global inequality in emissions between the richest and poorest people, and that tackling the emissions of the wealthy minority was essential to ending global warming.

Professor Stefan Gössling of Linnaeus University in Sweden, who led the research, said: “The rich make up a very small part of the population but are increasing their emissions very quickly and by very large proportions. » He added: “The growth in global emissions that we are experiencing today is coming from above.”

The research, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environmenttook the data from ADS-B trading platformwhich records signals sent once per minute from each aircraft’s transponders, recording its position and altitude. This enormous data set – 1.8 terabytes – was then filtered for the 72 aircraft models marketed by their manufacturers as “business jets”. The emissions figures are likely underestimated because smaller aircraft and emissions from taxiing were not taken into account.

The analysis found that the number of private jets increased by 28% and the distance flown by 53% between 2019 and 2023. Less than a third of flights were longer than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and nearly 900,000 flights were less than 50 kilometers. (31 miles).

“We know that some people really use them as taxis,” Gössling said. “If it’s only 50 kilometers, you can definitely do it by car.” Outside of the United States and Europe, Brazil, the Middle East and the Caribbean are popular destinations for private jets.

Much of the use is for recreation, the researchers found. For example, the use of private jets to Ibiza in Spain and Nice in France peaked in summer and was concentrated on weekends. In the United States, Taylor Swift, DuckFloyd Mayweather Jr., Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey are among those who have been criticized for its extensive use of private jets.

The researchers also looked at some economic events in 2023, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which saw 660 private jet flights, and the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, which saw 291 flights.

Gössling said factors behind the recent surge in private jet use have not been analyzed but could include a growing reluctance to share cabins on commercial flights that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID. Industry documents describe private jet users as “ultra-high net worth”, comprising approximately 250,000 people, with an average wealth of $123 million. American private jet users are increasingly using “ICAO addresses“, which obscure the identity of the plane and could make tracking them much more difficult in the future.

According to Gössling, passengers would have to pay for the climate damage caused by each tonne of CO2 emitted, estimated at around 200 euros: “Basically, it would seem fair that people pay for the damage they cause through their behavior. »

A second step would be to increase landing fees for private planes, which are currently very low, he added. A landing fee of €5,000 ($5,351) could be an effective deterrent, roughly doubling the cost of common private flights.

Alethea Warrington, head of aviation at climate charity Possible, said: “Private jets, used by a small group of ultra-rich people, are a completely unjustifiable and gratuitous waste of our meager remaining emissions budget to avoid climate degradation, and their emissions. are booming, even as the impacts of the climate crisis intensify.

“It is time for governments to act,” she said. “We need… a supertax, to quickly achieve an outright ban on private jets.”

The US Private Aviation Association did not respond to a request for comment.