--- title: "World Leaders Mocked for Flying Private Jets to Climate Conference" description: "World leaders are resorting to flying private jets, an extremely privileged and polluting form of transportation, to attend the UN climate change summit." date: "2021-11-01" modified: "2021-11-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/world-leaders-mocked-private-jets-climate-conference" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "global warming" - "private jet" - "the digest" --- # World Leaders Mocked for Flying Private Jets to Climate Conference ![]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Jet Worth The United Nations' climate change summit kicked off on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland. Some of the biggest names in world politics — including president Joe Biden and UK prime minister Boris Johnson — are invited to discuss everything from carbon neutrality commitments to new infrastructure that could allow the world to hit the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement. And to make the long journey, ironically, many of them are resorting to an extremely privileged and polluting form of transportation: private jets. An estimated 400 private planes flew into Glasgow for the event, the [*BBC* reports](). The double standard couldn't be more obvious. Ahead of voicing their concern about global warming, lawmakers are resorting to a form of transportation responsible for an astonishing amount of carbon pollution, as [*Gizmodo* points out](). A mere four hour journey on board a private jet is [equivalent]() to the amount of greenhouse gases being produced by the average European citizen in an entire year. ## Worth It? What is private jet transportation, ultimately — shameless ignorance, leading to potentially damaging coverage in the media, or justified behavior by in-demand public figures? Some are arguing the latter. "Given all of the travel required to get here, it even further increases the pressure on the shoulders of world leaders to make sure it's worth it," Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told the *BBC*. But to many, that point doesn't amount to much of an argument. In fact, why fly at all when lawmakers and world leaders can hop on a Zoom conference? Perhaps it's time to ban private jet travel outright, as *Gizmodo* argues — or at least make fliers pay for the extravagant emissions their private air travel is responsible for? **READ MORE:** [Ban Private Jets]() \[*Gizmodo*\] **More on the climate:** *[United Nations Warns of “Endless Suffering” Due to Climate Disaster]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()