Seriously? With the private jet to the sustainability meeting
We all know the difference between talking and acting. You can have a wonderful conversation about sustainability and its urgent importance for companies, the economy and the world as a whole at the World Economic Forum in Davos, which has been taking place since this morning, and travel there by private jet. A small thing in view of the large number of annual flights around the world, and then again not. It is a sign. Those who should be reducing their carbon footprint the most, those who should be taking action, the richest 1 percent on earth, are jetting around the globe. Knowing that the airplane is by far the most climate-damaging means of transportation.
"While a historic winter heatwave holds Europe in thrall, the rich and powerful are flocking to the World Economic Forum in Davos in hundreds of private jets. This is a mockery of all those who are already suffering the consequences of the climate crisis," said climate and transport expert Klara Maria Schenk (Greenpeace). "Anyone who wants to talk seriously about climate protection must also set an example. The heads of state and government are called upon to ban these unnecessary and climate-damaging private jet flights," said Schenk.
Here are the facts from this report by the CE Delft Institute on behalf of Greenpeace International at a glance:
In the week of last year's WEF (remember in Corona times), 1,040 private flights were counted at Davos airports, compared to around 500 in a "normal" week. These caused around 7,400 tons of CO2 emissions, which corresponds to the emissions of around 260,000 cars in a week.
More than half of all flights were short-haul flights - according to the report, the shortest flight was only 21 km.
CO2 emissions increased by 400 percent compared to the weeks before and after the event.
Greenpeace is calling for a ban on private flights, as these are currently not regulated.
The World Economic Forum Davos officially commits to the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Agreement - how does that fit together? Or: how does it work out?
