By virtue of their small size and limited capacity, private jets are deeply inefficient. They have an outsized climate impact and, according to a new study, their emissions are on the rise.
For the study, researchers analyzed flight data from more than 26,000 private jets between 2019 and 2023, tabulating the emissions of more than 18 million flights. They found that, in just five years, private jet emissions rose by 46 percent globally. Their research was published in Communications Earth & Environment.
Fewer than one in 10,000 people make use of private jets, but their carbon footprint is substantially larger than those who fly commercial. According to the study, the most prolific private fliers each produced 2,400 tons of carbon dioxide in the air last year, or roughly 500 times as much as the average person on Earth generates in an entire year.
The study also revealed a spike in private jet emissions around major global events, such as the World Cup or last year’s UN climate conference in Dubai. The climate negotiations were linked to hundreds of private flights, which together generated some 4,800 tons of carbon dioxide, roughly 1,000 times more than the average person produces yearly.
