OCC looks for fintech research
The comments on the photo – which have since been closed – called out Jenner, not only for her display of excessive wealth, but also for the climate damage of using private jets. The firestorm was intensified by the findings from Twitter account @CelebJets, which automatically tracks the movements of celebrity planes. The account revealed that Jenner routinely uses her private jet for trips that are under 15 minutes. She is not alone either; the account has also revealed that celebrities including Floyd Mayweather, Kenny Chesney and Drake are members of the super-short-flight club.
The public outrage over the carbon emissions of the super-rich has served as a case study for how new technology and publicly available data can be used for climate responsibility. Jack Sweeney, the 19-year-old creator of @CelebJets and many other automated jet-tracking accounts (including the now infamous @ElonJet), is pleased his work has had an impact.
“Hopefully it makes people be more careful with their flights or … think more about traveling less or being more efficient,” Sweeney told Protocol.
While his accounts initially used available FAA information to track the departures, intended flight routes and landings of aircraft Sweeney thought were interesting, in May he adapted the trackers to include fuel use and carbon emissions as well. The estimates are based on the type of aircraft and how much fuel per hour it burns. He doesn’t have all the airplane models there yet, but he plans to add more.
There are already companies looking to seize the opportunity that @CelebJets has opened up. Sweeney said at least one carbon offset company has been approached about using the trackers to integrate offsets into celebrity jet travel.
This is a welcome development for Sweeney, who pointed out that Bill Gates already offsets his private jet travel, and if he can do it, so can others: “If … more and more people do it, that should help.” he said.
It remains to be seen whether the pressure pays dividends for the climate. Jet travel is notoriously difficult to decarbonise, and compensation comes with all sorts of problems from both a climate and land rights perspective.
The scrutiny brought by Sweeney’s trackers has rattled at least some private jet travelers, though they may be taking away the wrong message. Musk personally contacted Sweeney last fall and asked him to take down the popular @ElonJet account, offering him $5,000 to do so. It is not exactly a solution that will benefit the climate. While Jenner has yet to slide into Sweeney’s DMs, he said both billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban and sales mogul Grant Cardone have done so in recent months.
Sweeney’s father works in the airline industry, and Sweeney has been tracking flights since childhood. But he may not stop at seeing the rich go to heaven. Sweeney accessed data from MarineTraffic, a ship tracking intelligence company, a few months ago. Although he has yet to do anything about it, others are already using similar data to track some billionaires’ yachts, including the one owned by Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder.
Using data and technology to expose private jet and yacht travel does more than create a social media frenzy. It highlights one of the most important injustices of climate change: rich people are responsible for a disproportionate amount of carbon pollution.
Research shows that a single flight across the US in a Gulfstream IV private jet – a particularly popular model – emits twice as much carbon dioxide as the average American does in an entire year. ONE Bloomberg analysis published earlier this year also revealed that the top 1% of the world’s highest earners emit a staggering 70 times more carbon dioxide than the bottom 50% combined. These dynamics often play out as background noise, but trackers like Sweeney’s are ensuring they are a bigger part of the conversation about how the world should reduce emissions.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Washington Commander’s name. This story was updated on 22 July 2022.
