A recently shared picture by Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott on social media, in which the couple was seen posing in front of their private jets, caused a huge outcry on social media. Many branded Jenner as a 'climate criminal' for flying in a private jet for travel purposes. Social media users argued that it was a matter of concern that Jenner, Scott and other celebrities were contributing to carbon emissions and seemed 'proud' about it. Now, as per new research, many other celebrities have been branded as 'climate criminals' on the basis of the frequent use of their private planes.
Taylor Swift tops the list of carbon-emitters
Singer and songwriter Taylor Swift occupied the top spot on the list of celebrities who were hurting the environment by taking off on their private plane, thus adding to the carbon emissions. According to Yard, Swift’s jet flew 170 times between January 1 and July 19 (the window for the study), totalling 22,923 minutes, or 15.9 days, in the air. The carbon emissions were estimated to be 8,293.54 tonnes, which Yard claimed was 1,184.8 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions. However, it needs to be kept in mind that celebrity private jets are also rented by others. Thus attributing all carbon emissions in Swift's name would be unfair. The same is the case with other celebrities on the list curated by Yard.
Floyd Mayweather and Jay-Z also feature on the list
After Swift, boxing professional Floyd Mayweather's private jet contributed the most carbon emissions. He was followed by rapper Jay-Z. However, Jay-Z's aircraft belonged to Puma Jet, which also flew the athletes the brand endorses. Jay-Z is the creative director at Puma.
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Other celebs in the carbon emissions list
While the top three spots have been occupied by Swift, Mayweather and Jay-Z, other celebrity jets that contributed to the most carbon emissions were owned by Alex Rodriguez, Blake Shelton, Steven Spielberg, Kim Kardashian, Mark Wahlberg, Oprah Winfrey and Travis Scott.
Kylie Jenner-owned private jet came in at the 19th spot. That owned by Jim Carrey and Tom Cruise came at number 18th and 20th respectively while Drake's came in at number 16th spot.
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