Private jets as big polluters as pets, executive says

A private jet executive has rejected criticism that his industry was a major greenhouse gas emitter, claiming pets pollute as much if not more as the demand for luxury transport.

Patrick Hansen, CEO of Luxembourg-based Luxaviation, told FT’s business of luxury summit in Monaco that a client of his company produces about 2.1 tonnes of CO₂ per year, or about the same amount as three cats – before a spokesman corrected offstage that he meant three dogs.

The industry was aware of the urgency to limit its carbon footprint, but the data “must be kept in perspective,” Hansen said during a panel discussion on Tuesday. He added that private flights “are not going away, because they provide a service of time to the rich”.

Hansen later said he was referring to data published in “How Bad Are Bananas”, a book by Mike Berners-Lee, a British academic. It states that a cat kept as a household pet is responsible for 310 kg of carbon emissions per year, and a dog is responsible for approximately 700 kg of carbon emissions.

Berners-Lee said in an email that he was “surprised and dismayed to hear data from my book being used to defend bogus eco claims made by Luxaviation.” He cast doubt on the 2.1 ton figure provided by Hansen, saying that it “looked suspiciously low” and “should be for very short flights and very small aircraft.”

“The simple reality is that emissions from luxury private jets are many times higher than those from standard commercial flights. Nor is it fair to claim that climate damage can be undone by so-called ‘offsetting’.” Carbon indulgences.”

Private jet companies have benefited from rising demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the ultra-wealthy sought to escape congestion and restrictions. According to industry experts, despite all travel restrictions being lifted, the trend is set to continue as high spenders seek more personalized and luxurious travel experiences. According to industry data, global demand for private jets has increased by more than 14 percent from before the pandemic.

Hansen said an “inflow of new customers into the private jet market” last year had offset the loss of customers from regions affected by air travel restrictions linked to Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, climate change activists and policy makers have called for measures to penalize private flights to help stop global warming. Last month, Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport demanded a ban on private jets from flying in and out of the Dutch capital after climate activists stormed its runway. Workers at Geneva Airport on Tuesday Europe’s major trade fair disrupted for private jets.

2022 according to Oxfam reports The carbon footprint of private jets is at least 10 times greater than that of commercial airlines. This means that one per cent of the world’s population is responsible for half of the total emissions from the aviation industry, according to the charity. this was it supported by a study by Transport and Environment, an EU NGO, which estimated that private jets were emitting 5 to 14 times more greenhouse gases per passenger than commercial flights.

Hansen said the industry “doesn’t want to be embarrassed with our children” and was taking steps to offset and limit its emissions.

Some industry experts have suggested that sustainable fuels, such as biofuels made from vegetable oils and synthetic fuels, could replace traditional carbon-based fuels. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun dismissed biofuels in an interview, saying they would “never achieve the cost of jet fuel”.

Hansen said the availability of biofuels was extremely limited worldwide so the air travel industry could not rely exclusively on less polluting alternatives.

“Of course, when we flew people to COP26 in Edinburgh, we made sure those jets were filled exclusively with sustainable fuel,” he said.

According to Hansen, hydrogen and electric engines for aircraft will be more sustainable alternatives to combustion engines in the long term. For the foreseeable future, however, Luxaviation is advising customers not to fly on private jets for very short distances.

“Sometimes it’s better not to fly. We tell our customers, don’t fly from Paris to Lyon.

On Tuesday, in a move to cut emissions, France banned domestic short-haul flights, for which alternatives already exist by train, including routes such as Paris to Nantes, Bordeaux and Lyon.