“This private jets drag us towards climate catastrophe“As Europe struggles with global warming, emissions from private planes don’t stop rising. In 2022, the number of private jet flights in Europe increased by 64% to 572,806, which means that the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere will double to reach 3.3 million tons.Equivalent to the annual emissions of the European Union (EU) average 555,000 residents, or the combined annual emissions of cities such as Lisbon, Manchester or Malaga. Spain is among the four worst countries in this department.
According to a study commissioned by Greenpeace, which calls for a ban on private jets to stop this, Europe has added 1,041,640 private flights over the past three years that have emitted 5,377,851 tonnes of CO2.waste of energy for luxuryand started a world campaign garner public support.
According to research, 55% of private jet flights in Europe last year were short or very short, less than 750 kilometers. Flights by train or ferry without significantly increasing travel times. 15% were flights shorter than 250 kilometers.
Spain ranks fourth in the list of EU countries with the most private flights with 45,633 last year, after the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Nearly 8% of private jet flights in Europe in 2022 depart from Spain.
Analysis by Dutch environmental consulting firm CE Delft shows that Private flights departing from Spain increased from 26,239 in 2021 to 45,633 in 2022, a 74% increase in a single year. The result: CO2 emissions increased from 126,786 tonnes in 2021 to 243,851 tonnes in 2022.
The main route of Ibiza-Palma, Spain
By airports, in Spain Palma de Mallorca which moves the most executive aviation traffic, followed by Ibiza. They were ranked 9th and 10th, respectively, by the number of moves in Europe.
There were 7,932 private flights from Palma de Mallorca, 6,606 from Ibiza and 6,237 from Madrid-Barajas. The Ibiza-Palma de Mallorca route was among the 10 routes with the highest air traffic last year. Within the Eurocontrol Network (European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation).
“When the world is facing a problem global energy crisis threatening the livelihoods of millions of people and climate crisis growing up yeah It’s time to put an end to private planes, the most unfair and polluting means of transportation.“, pointed out Cristina Arjona, coordinator of the Greenpeace Spain mobility campaign.
“Banning private planes would be a good sign of justice for European citizens in the context of the current climate emergency.”
The investigation reveals that The three most popular destinations in Europe were Nice, Paris and Genevaand the three busiest routes Paris-London, Nice-London and Paris-Geneva, two of which (first and third) have alternative direct train connections of less than 3.5 hours and multiple departures per day.
This train alternatives The numbers are even higher for routes shorter than 100 kilometers. Some examples are routes between Maastricht and Liège, 32 minutes away by train; Brussels and Antwerp, between 40 and 50 minutes; Nice and Cannes, about 30 minutes; Amsterdam and Rotterdam, about 40 minutes; Geneva and Chambery, one hour and 19 minutes; and Zurich and Basel about an hour by train.
Pollutes 50 times more than trains
Greenpeace condemned it private jets and the emissions they generate are currently not regulated in the EU although it is excluded from the EU legislation on greenhouse gas emissions. the most polluting, energy-wasting and least equitable mode of transport per passenger and kilometer“.
According to the environmental NGO, private jets emit on average 5 to 14 times more CO2 per passenger than a commercial plane and 50 times more than trains.. Thus, the average carbon emissions from each private jet flight in Europe in 2022 were 5.9 tons of CO2, equivalent to driving an average petrol car 23,000 kilometers or traveling 16 times from Paris to Rome.
“In 2018, only 1% of the world’s population caused 50% of all aviation emissions.. Meanwhile, 80% of the world’s inhabitants have never even flown while bearing the brunt of the climate crisis. extreme heat waves, seller And drought more and more frequent and dangerous”, emphasizes Greenpeace.
“In a context where citizens are asked to conserve energy as much as possible, the wealthy continue to waste excess energy by operating in private jets, pushing us towards climate catastrophe,” the NGO says. ban private planes and enforce a “fair transportation system”.
More than 60% of the oil used in the world is used in transportation. “The startling growth of private jet flights is in stark contrast to all the research that tells us this. we must immediately reduce CO2 emissions to prevent a complete disasterUnderlined Klara Maria Schenk, transportation manager for Greenpeace’s “Mobility for All” campaign.
Summary of data for Spain
one Spain is occupying fourth place With 45,633 units, it is on the list of EU countries with the most private jet flights per year. In 2022, about 8% of all private flights in Europe left Spain.
2 Why did private planes take off from Spain? 243,900 tons of CO2It is equivalent to the annual average CO2 emissions of 162,567 cars.
3 Number of private planes departing from Spain increased by 74% last year. The number of private flights, which was 26 thousand 239 in 2021 compared to the previous year, increased to 45 thousand 633 in 2022.
4 Private jet flights departing from Spanish airports increased in 2022 243,900 tons of CO2. It represents an increase of 92% compared to the previous year.
5 Private jet flights published in Spain in the last three years (2020-2022) 389,000 tons of CO2.
6 Palma de Majorca Europe’s eighth busiest airport with private flights. However, it should be noted that some of these flights may be for medical purposes.
7 The airports with the most registered private jet operations in Spain in 2022 were: Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza and Madrid-Barajas.
8 The shortest private aviation route with 10 or more flights per year was the connecting route. Santiago de Compostela and La Coruna. To cover this distance, there is a train that departs at 30-minute intervals in both directions and completes the journey in 30 minutes.
Reference report (in English): https://greenpeace.at/uploads/2023/03/co2_emissions_of_private_aviation_in_europe_def.pdf
Summary of the report (in Spanish): https://es.greenpeace.org/es/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/03/Resumen-informe-Las-emisiones-de-CO2-de-la – Europe’ da special aviation-30032023.docx.pdf
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Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]