It’s time to ban private jets – or at least tax them to the ground

theguardian.com:

Kylie Jenner, Drake and other celebrities have recently faced criticism for carbon emission-heavy private jet rides, with one of Jenner’s flights reportedly lasting an offensively short 17 minutes.

It might be less insulting if the flights were taken for reasons vital to the survival of the human race or at least the function of government. But these were entertainers and private individuals who have access to first-class commercial flights and the same conveniences of phone and video calls us humble common folk use.

In the last few decades, private jets have become an increasing source of global flight emissions, while providing very little value for most humans on earth. At the same time, the working class has carried the burden of daily sacrifices for the climate crisis, with the poorest of the global working class even forced to flee their homes. It is time that we go after the egregious lifestyles of the wealthy, and invest in public infrastructure that can fill the gaps and provide both the wealthy and the masses with fast and clean transportation. While private jet usage doesn’t rank as highly as an emission source as do, say, the beef industry or the American military, private jets feel particularly pointless and tasteless – the kind of private carbon indulgence we ought to rid ourselves of on principle. While private jets for events like climate summits may be somewhat justified, it is easy to assume that most other flights aren’t as vital as meetings about the future of the planet.

Environment reporter Oliver Milman covered the impact of all these frivolous flights in a July article, writing that:

private aircraft still emit more than 33m tonnes of greenhouse gases, more than the country of Denmark … they are five