Image: Copyright © 2009 Cessna Aircraft
572,806 flights with private jets were carried out in Europe in 2022. That was 64 percent more than the 350,078 trips in the previous year, when the level of 2019 before the pandemic was exceeded. The private jet flights in Europe in 2022 caused 3.4 million tons of CO2. This corresponds to the annual CO2 emissions of 555,000 EU residents, i.e. the population of large cities like Lisbon, according to Greenpeace’s analysis of these “luxury emissions”.
The Corona slump with 118,756 private jet flights in Europe (EU27, United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland) in 2020 did not last long. On the contrary, the figures have “increased by a breathtaking 382 percent” in the past three years, according to the analysis published on Thursday by the research institute CE Delft on behalf of Greenpeace.
Greenpeace calls for EU-wide ban
“Millions of people around the world are grappling with the effects of the climate crisis and extreme weather events, while a tiny minority burn kerosene just for their own pleasure like there’s no tomorrow. Private jets are an unfair burden on society and need to be replaced across the EU be banned”, demanded Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace Austria.
Austria in seventh place
The countries with the most private jet flights in Europe in 2022 were Great Britain, France and Germanyfollowed by Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Austria in seventh place. Private jet flights from Austria increased by 89 percent year-on-year and caused 54,400 tons of CO2 – this corresponds to the average CO2 emissions of 36,251 cars per year. The most used routes for private air traffic from Austria were in the previous year Vienna-Nice, Vienna-London and Vienna-Zurich.
82 flights from Vienna to Bratislava
One of the shortest routes flown from Austria is Vienna-Bratislava with a distance of 48 kilometers and 82 flights in the previous year. “This is where the pinnacle of absurdity has been reached: Bratislava can be reached by train in a very short time. Flying this route tramples on any climate protection efforts,” stressed Duregger.
Nice most popular destination for private jets
In 2022, 55 percent of all private jet flights in Europe were short and very short flights of less than 750 kilometers. 15 percent of all private jet flights were less than 250 kilometers and 24 percent were between 250 and 500 kilometers. Most of those distances could easily have been replaced by train travel or ferries, Greenpeace said. The three most popular European airports for private jets were last year Nice/Côte d’Azur, Paris and Geneva with 34,710, 33,496 and 28,630 flights respectively.
Ten times the emissions of a normal flight
“Climate-friendly means of transport and networks must be comprehensively and safely expanded and promoted,” Greenpeace demanded. Climate-damaging forms of transport, such as air travel, must be taxed fairly. Especially for unnecessary flight routes that are harmful to the climate, such as private jet flights, “bans are also necessary”. Private jets cause emissions of an average of 1.3 kilograms of CO2 per person and kilometer – ten times that of a normal flight and 50 times more than an average train journey in Europe.
CO2 concentration higher than ever
CO2 is by far the most important man-made greenhouse gas and thus the main cause of the climate crisis. Never in history has the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere been so high. The focus of the historic UN climate protection treaty in Paris, adopted in 2015, is the goal of limiting global warming caused by greenhouse gases to well below two degrees compared to the pre-industrial age. Efforts should also be stepped up to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees. However, experts and climate protectors see the achievement of the Paris climate goals as hardly achievable, even with optimistic scenarios.
Source: Nachrichten
