CGTN Europe interviewed Kingsmill Bond, Energy Strategist at the Rocky Mountain Institute.
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00:00Hello, welcome back to Global Business Europe.
00:02Back now to our main story.
00:04And as delegates gather for COP29 in Baku to implore the world to lower emissions,
00:09the past four years have seen a boom in private aviation.
00:12As a relatively small number of rich people spend more and more time flying,
00:17the amount of carbon they release is rising dramatically.
00:20Between 2019 and 2023, the number of private flights rose to more than 4 million a year,
00:26increasing CO2 emissions from private aviation by nearly 50%.
00:31In 2023, private flights produced a total of 15.6 million tonnes of CO2.
00:37That still only equates to about 1.8% of the total carbon emissions produced by commercial aviation in that year.
00:44But only 0.003% of the world's population uses private jets,
00:50making them the most polluting form of transport per capita.
00:54Data has also shown that some private jets are being used like taxis,
00:58with nearly a million flights a year taken for journeys of less than 50 km.
01:03Well, let's talk now to Kingsmill Bond, energy strategist at the Rocky Mountain Institute.
01:07Good to see you again. Welcome back to the program.
01:09So, in reality here, we are talking about a vanishingly small number of people actually using private jets.
01:15Are these increased emissions something we should be worried about?
01:20Well, they are, because in most other areas of the energy system, actually emissions are falling.
01:25But in this area specifically, they've grown by, as you've just said, nearly 50% in just four years.
01:31So, the fact they're growing so quickly is certainly cause for concern.
01:36Let's talk about COP. That's underway today.
01:38Plenty of people championing the climate, known to use private jets to actually get to this event.
01:44This looks rather like something, like a case of do as I say, not do as I do.
01:51Well, I'm not sure that that's quite the angle we would have on it.
01:56The key point is you actually have to get stuff done in order to move from state A to state B
02:01if you happen to use the private jets, not the end of the world.
02:04I think the key point here, though, is that actually the private jets can lead a transition in the aviation sector,
02:10because that's the area that can go electric quicker.
02:12That's the area that can afford to pay for SAF.
02:15And that's the area, as we've seen in many other parts of the energy system, that can actually afford to drive change.
02:21So, you say that sometimes these journeys that private jets facilitate wouldn't be able to be undertaken otherwise,
02:26but we are actually talking about some of these journeys being less than 50 kilometers long.
02:31There's no need for those, are there?
02:34Well, that's where you want to be having electric airplanes, and that's the interesting thing.
02:39There's now about 10 or 20 companies doing electric flights,
02:42and actually the whole point about electric flights is that they're perfect for short distance and for small planes.
02:48So, this is actually where I think we're going to see a quite rapid change.
02:51And, of course, as change takes off in that sector, then it gets catalyzed across the rest of the aviation sector.
02:58So, whilst you're completely right, it's stuff like this,
03:02the rich using private jets to go from A to B and polluting the environment is not a good look at all.
03:10Nevertheless, there are grounds for hope.
03:14We're not there yet, though, are we, when it comes to electric aviation?
03:18How do emissions from private jets actually contribute to climate change at the moment?
03:24So, as you just said, emissions from private jets are 2% of aviation emissions.
03:28In turn, aviation emissions are around 2.5% of total emissions.
03:33So, it is a relatively small part of the total, but it's important symbolically.
03:40And that's why, again, I think it's important for people to make some changes
03:44and to pay up for pollution that they're causing.
03:48Kingsmill, good to talk to you as always. Thank you for joining us on the program.
03:51That's Kingsmill Bond, Energy Strategist at the Rocky Mountain Institute.