Rich celebs accused of harming planet by 'using private jets like taxis'

The mega-rich are using private jets like taxis, warn climate scientists who tracked flights to calculate the planet-warming gases they release.

A team of experts traced the flights taken by private jets around the world between 2019 and 2023.

A lot of the flights were for things like football games and film festivals, with 1,846 jets arriving in Qatar at the same time as the 2022 Fifa World Cup.

Meanwhile 291 private planes landed in Dubai in 2023 while the UN climate conference was being held.

The team say that flying in a private jet for an hour can produce release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than an average person produces in a year.

Forget first class, a private jet is the height of luxury with no one kicking the back of your seat!

The scientists chose not to name individuals, making clear they did not wish to point the finger at any one person but people who fly in private jets are typically among the richest in the world.

The scientists estimated that group make up around 256,000 people, 0.003% of the world's adults, each owning an average of $123m (£95m), according to the scientists.

The team mapped the flight routes of a number of internationally recognised figures, named in the report as only “renowned actors, singers, and directors”.

Many of the flights were for leisure or events such as film festivals and football matches and almost half were shorter than 500km - that's less than the distance between London and Edinburgh.

The report said that in 2023 alone, private flights produced around 15.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

That's the similar to that produced by nearly 4 million petrol cars in a year.

Between 2019 and 2023 emissions caused by private jets increased by 46%.

Many of the fights went to the World Cup in Qatar

Stefan Gossling from Sweden's Linnaeus University led the research, which was published in the scientific research journal Communications Earth & Environment.

“There are a lot of people using these aircraft as taxis, where you cover whatever distance by aircraft simply because it's more convenient," he said.

“If somebody’s flight emits in one hour as much as an average human being emits in a year - just to watch a soccer game - then perhaps it shows those people think they are outside the standards that we have as a global community.

"We need to cut down on certain activities and we need to start at the top in order to make the statement that everybody has a role in cutting down emissions."

The research did not include heads of states or politicians, who are more likely to fly in chartered rather than privately owned planes.