A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization, or community.
As issues are emerging of celebrities using private jets to travel tiny distances, it’s opened up the question of are wealthy people more responsible for carbon emissions? We as individuals can do our bit by turning off the lights and using public transport. However, we can hardly make a dent if the big offenders don’t change their ways.
Giant footprints
In an article on the carbon footprints of the super-rich it was revealed that billionaires each emitted an average of 8,194 metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere a year, compared with the average person’s less than 5 metric tons.
That’s a crazy statistic to hear and makes you wonder what these super-rich people could possibly be doing to create so much damage.
It means that, in 2018, the average billionaire polluted our common atmosphere 1,714 times more than the average person.
‘Ultra-High Net Worth’
People with more than $30million in assets are classed by Wealth-X as having ‘Ultra High Net Worth.’ This group of elite people across the globe are responsible for a huge chunk of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, even more than what many countries emit, according to ‘Think.’
Celebrities and billionaires are high profile people that set an example to the world, so these statistics are shocking. It can make the average person think ‘Why should I be putting loads of effort into reducing my carbon footprint when billionaires can erase the change instantly?’
‘You wanna take mine or yours?’
Recent backlash has brought this issue back into the limelight. Many people were furious in July when Kylie Jenner shared a photo on her Instagram account of her and her partner Travis Scott in front of two jets. The caption read: ‘You wanna take mine or yours?’
The backlash was instant with some critics on social media going hard in their criticism of Jenner.
A private jet ban?
One concerned person tweeted, ‘It’s time to ban private jets – or at least tax them to the ground-Kylie Jenner’s 17-minute private jet ride is a reminder that private jets are morally obscene and terrible for the climate.’
The conversation is still ongoing, with many people thinking private jets should be banned due to the awful effect they have on the climate.
Let us know where you stand on the debate in the comments.