Private jets produce far more planet-warming emissions than commercial flights. (Representative)
Multiple posts on social media criticized delegates for traveling by private jet to COP27 in Egypt – the latest in a series of recurrent claims targeting the UN climate summit.
Posts and reports included various estimates for the number of such aircraft bringing representatives to the gathering at the beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Climate Action Against Disinformation, a group that analyzes trends in misinformation on social media, said in a report on Thursday that narratives of alleged “hypocrisy and elitism” were one of the main focuses of climate-skeptical messages during COP27 .
400 private jets
Egyptian sources confirmed widespread claims that around 400 private jets landed during COP27. Some media cited low estimates by flight-trackers, although there may have been private flights that were not logged by surveillance services.
A misleading post in Spanish claimed there were 1,500 private jets. Along with it was an old photo of the planes from an aviation forum in Las Vegas.
“More than 400 private jets have landed in Egypt in the past few days,” a source close to Egyptian aviation officials told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“There was a meeting before COP27, and the officials were expecting those jets and made some arrangements at Sharm el-Sheikh airport to welcome those planes.”
On 6 November, Ahmed Moussa, a talk-show host close to the Egyptian leadership, claimed on air that “Sharm el-Sheikh’s airport welcomed more than 300 private jets. The base was renovated with more corridors.
COP26 Comparison
Criticisms of the private jet also increased during the last UN climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow in November 2021. Estimates in the media ranged from less than 200 to around 400 used in that incident.
AFP fact-checked in various languages from that period a picture of planes parked on a runway claiming they were used by leaders at COP26. Reverse-image searches revealed that the image was actually taken years earlier and showed planes at an airport in New Orleans.
However, it was not just smugglers of false information criticizing COP27 representatives.
On 5 November, hundreds of climate activists, some on bicycles, occupied an apron for private jets at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, demanding a ban on such aircraft. The protest was organized by environmental groups Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion.
private jet emissions
Passengers on private jets produce more planet-warming emissions per capita than on commercial flights.
According to the European Clean Transport Campaign group Transport and the Environment, a private jet can emit two tons of carbon dioxide an hour and is five to 14 times more polluting per passenger than a commercial aircraft.
An online emissions calculator provided by the International Civil Aviation Organization indicates that a passenger on a commercial flight in premium class will produce about half a ton of CO2 in total during a flight from London to Sharm el-Sheikh.
More than 33,000 participants are registered at COP27, where delegates are holding high-level talks on increasing finance for developing countries to green their economies and prepare for global warming impacts.
Scientists say climate change caused by human burning of fossil fuels is increasing catastrophic disasters, including floods, heatwaves and droughts, which are likely to intensify in the coming decades if emissions are not cut.
“Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,” UN chief Antonio Guterres told the summit on 7 November.
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