400 Private Jets Fly In To Glasgow Climate Conference, Outraging Climate Activists

NEW YORK (VINnews) — Most of the delegates to the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Glasgow this week came in on public transport but some 400 private jets are flying in with the world elite.

Jeff Bezos’ $65 million Gulf Stream jet led the stream of private planes flying into the summit, but many world leaders and dignitaries chose to fly in via their private jets, creating what one Scottish news outlet described as “an extraordinary traffic jam [which] forced empty planes to fly 30 miles to find space to park.” Even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who flew in from Rome on his Airbus A321, was stuck circling Glasgow for more than 20 minutes due to the number of jets arriving at the same time.

As President Biden described his vision of a “decade of ambition and innovation to preserve our shared future” on Monday, other famous people were still jetting in by private plane, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Gates and singer Ellie Goulding.

Matt Finch, of the UK’s Transport and Environment campaign group, told Scotland’s Sunday Mail: “The average private jet, and we are not talking Air Force One, emits two tons of CO2 for every hour in flight.

“It can’t be stressed enough how bad private jets are for the environment, it is the worst way to travel by miles. Our research has found that most journeys could easily be completed on scheduled flights.

“Private jets are very prestigious but it is difficult to avoid the hypocrisy of using one while claiming to be fighting climate change.”

He added, “To put it in context, the total carbon footprint of an ordinary citizen — including everywhere they travel and everything they consume — is around eight tons a year.

“So an executive or politician taking one long haul private flight will burn more CO2 than several normal people do in a year.”

Aviation sources confirmed to the outlet that more than 400 private aircraft would likely carry over 1,000 world leaders, business execs and their staff to the talks.

The Sunday Mail also estimated that these jets will blast 13,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, which will generate more global warming gas than 1,600 Scots burn through in a year.

British Secretary of State Liz Truss attempted to defend the large amount of private jets flying in, stating that “I think everybody who’s ever done a Zoom call knows that they’re quite useful for some things.

“But when you really get into crunch negotiations. When you want to look somebody in the eye and talk to them face to face, you do need to meet in person. And this is really critical.”

Some British news outlets focused on all of the private cars transporting VIPs to the conference, many of which left with chauffeurs and with engines running.

Side streets around #COP26 are choked up with chauffeur-driven cars and vans, many with their engines idling. Interesting look for a climate conference,” Channel 4 News reporter Ciaran Jenkins noted.

Social media users also criticized participants at the summit for their two-faced approach to climate change.

Referring to Jeff Bezos, one of them wrote that “Nothing quite shows your commitment to climate action like flying to #COP26 in a private jet, and burning a few million litres of rocket fuel through the atmosphere every 5 minutes to show off to your mates. Eh Jeff?”

“They are laughing at you,” wrote another user. “The 400 private jets used by world ‘leaders’ to get to #COP26 pumped out 13,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, yet they want you to stop eating meat, to stop going on holiday, to buy a new electric car, & to spend thousands of pounds on new boilers.”