Do Private Jet users emit more CO₂ than a small city in Central Africa? On 7 November 2024, the BBC released a report analysing the environmental implications of private aviation by the ultra-rich and the disproportionate scale of its carbon footprint. In that report, Professor Stefan Gössling, from Sweden’s Linnaeus University, says that the emissions “might not seem much, but this is a tiny fraction of humanity and each of these individuals in a year is emitting more than a small city in central Africa”. This statement is mostly true.
Private Jet users: A tiny fraction of humanity
The first part of Prof. Gössling’s claim emphasizes how few people actually fly privately. According to the BBC reporting, there are approximately 256,000 private jet users worldwide, representing roughly 0.003% of the global adult population. These individuals are not merely occasional flyers, but often “super flyers”, using their private jets especially out of convenience, rather than an emerging need. This means of transportation functions exactly as an air taxi service, with the ultra-wealthy using private jets to take multiple short trips (under 900km) for business or leisure.
Further research on this matter also supports the claims made by the BBC. A study conducted by Yale Environment 360 states that “fewer than one in 10,000 people make use of private jets, but their carbon footprint is substantially larger than those who fly commercial.” Expressed as a percentage, this is 0.01%, meaning that the estimate of 0.003% for frequent high-intensity users is well within a plausible range.
The aim of the comparison is to show the disproportionately large share of emissions from private aviation. This extremely small elite is responsible for a significant global carbon output.
Emissions of frequent Private Jet users
The second part of the claim concerns the sheer scale of emissions from the mega-rich private jet users. According to multiple sources, including the BBC, Yale E360 and the Associated Press (Carbon pollution from high flying rich in private jets soars | The Associated Press), a single intensive private jet user emits approximately 2,400 tonnes of CO₂ per year. To put this in perspective, the average global citizen produces roughly 4.3–4.4 tonnes of CO₂ annually. Therefore, a single frequent flyer emits nearly 500 times more than the average person. Even a single hour of flight in a private jet can produce more CO₂ than the average person emits in an entire year (BBC, 2024).
Recent studies show that total emissions from private jets are rising sharply. The Associated Press and Phys.org report that the global private jet fleet released 15.6 million tonnes of CO₂ in 2023, a 46% increase since 2019. (Private aviation emissions soar by 46% from 2019 to 2023)
Similarly, the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT, 2023) found that private jets emitted roughly 19.5 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent, a 25% increase since 2013. On average, a single private jet produces 810 tonnes of CO₂ annually, the equivalent of 177 passenger cars.
Although private jets account for only about 1.8% of all aviation emissions, aviation itself represents nearly 4% of global CO₂ output. This means that a tiny, ultra-wealthy minority is responsible for a disproportionately large and growing share of aviation’s climate impact. What appears as a symbol of luxury and convenience for the few comes at a collective environmental cost for everyone else. And the least fortunate people are the ones who bear the consequences.
The “Small City in Central Africa” Comparison
The most debated element of Gössling’s statement is the comparison to a “small city.” Defining this term is inherently challenging, as cities vary widely in population and per-capita emissions, and no standardized definition of “small” exists in this context. Nevertheless, reasonable assumptions allow for a meaningful comparison.
The Central African Republic (CAR) provides a useful benchmark. In 2023, CAR’s total CO₂ emissions were 0.368 million tonnes, with a per-capita emission of 0.07 tonnes (CountryEconomy, 2023; TradingEconomics, 2023). A hypothetical city of 10,000 inhabitants in CAR would therefore emit roughly 700 tonnes of CO₂ annually, while a city of 20,000 inhabitants with slightly higher per-capita emissions (≈0.1 t) would produce about 2,000 tonnes per year. Both figures fall below the 2,400 tonnes emitted by a single intensive private jet user, supporting Gössling’s statement in very low-emission regions. (Central African Republic – CO2 emission 2023 | countryeconomy.com)(Central African Republic CO2 Emissions)
Larger or higher-emission cities illustrate the limits of this comparison. For instance, Nairobi, Kenya, reported total emissions of approximately 6.33 million tonnes, with a per-capita footprint of 1.27 tonnes in 2023 (C40 Cities, 2023). A population of 20,000 in Nairobi would collectively produce roughly 25,400 tonnes of CO₂ far exceeding a single private jet user’s annual emissions (City Fact Sheets_Nairobi). The Global Commission on Economy and Climate (New Climate Economy, 2023) highlights that urban per-capita emissions in African cities vary widely, from less than 0.1 tonnes in small towns to over 1.5 tonnes in larger, industrialized urban centers, underscoring the importance of local context in these comparisons.
Overall, the comparison is largely valid for very poor, low-emission communities, while it becomes less precise in larger or higher-emission urban areas. Therefore, its rhetorical intent remains clear, even if the numbers are slightly overstated in some cases.
Conclusion
After reviewing the data, the first part of the claim is true, because private jet users make up only about 0.003% of the global adult population, representing the ultra-rich elite. But the second part is only mostly true. One frequent jet user can emit more CO₂ than a small city in low-emission areas of Central Africa, though the comparison weakens for larger cities. Overall, the claim highlights the unequal climate impact of the world’s wealthiest individuals. This debate around aviation emissions is not purely technical, it is also moral. It raises urgent questions about fairness, the need for policy interventions, and the responsibility of the ultra‑rich in a world that is increasingly constrained by climate risk.
RESEARCH | ARTICLE © Ilincad Celmare, Mihai Bugă, Risheka Joshi, Stine Cordes
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