100 climate activists block private jets at biggest business aviation sales event in Europe
In Geneva, 100 climate activists supporting Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion and other climate movement groups from 17 countries have disrupted Europe’s biggest private jet sales fair, the annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), demanding a ban on private jets. The action follows a series of protests against private jets, including at Amsterdam Schiphol airport and actions as part of the Make Them Pay campaign, in the past months. Activists chained themselves to aircraft gangways and the exhibition entrance in order to keep prospective buyers from entering. The protestors stuck giant tobacco-style health warning labels on the jets marking them as toxic objects and warning that ‘private jets burn our future’, ‘kill our planet’, and ‘fuel inequality’. Sales of private jets are expected to reach their highest ever level this year, and the global fleet of private jets has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Private flights produce about 10 times the CO2 of a commercial flight per passenger kilometre. This sort of CO2 emissions are inequitable, and unjustified environmental damage by the very rich.
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Climate activists disrupt Europe’s biggest private jet fair
Protesters from Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion and others chain themselves to aircraft in Geneva
By Rupert Neate Wealth correspondent @RupertNeate (Guardian)
Tue 23 May 2023
Dozens of climate activists have disrupted Europe’s largest private jet trade fair by chaining themselves to aircraft to protest against the sector’s carbon emissions.
The demonstrators on behalf of Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion and Scientist Rebellion also attached themselves to the entrance gates of the event at Geneva airport in the hope of preventing prospective buyers from entering the annual show.
The activists, who were calling for a global ban on the use of private jets because of their carbon footprint, stuck tobacco-style health warning labels on some of the jets at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) saying private jets “burn our future”, “kill our planet”, and “fuel inequality”.
Mira Kapfinger, a campaigner from Stay Grounded, a network uniting more than 200 climate crisis campaign groups across the world, said: “While many can’t afford food or rent any more, the super-rich wreck our planet, unless we put an end to it.
“Apart from banning private jets, it’s also time to end air miles schemes which reward frequent flying, and instead tax frequent flyers. We need fair climate solutions.”
Klara Maria Schenk, a transport campaigner for Greenpeace, said: “For over 20 years, Europe’s super-rich have popped champagne behind closed doors at EBACE while shopping for the latest toxic private jets.
“Sales of private jets are skyrocketing, and with them the 1%’s hugely unfair contribution to the climate crisis – while the most vulnerable people deal with the damage. It is high time for politicians to put a stop to this unjust and excessive pollution and ban private jets.”
Sales of private jets are expected to reach their highest ever level this year, according to a report by the US Institute for Policy Studies thinktank and Patriotic Millionaires, a group of super-rich people calling for higher taxes on the wealthiest in society.
The global fleet of private jets has more than doubled in the past two decades, and there were 5.3m private flights last year – more than ever before, according to the report.
Although private jet travel makes up only 4% of the global aviation market, it produces about 10 times as much greenhouse gas for each passenger.
Climate emissions from private aviation have increased by nearly a quarter since the pandemic, when flying of all types nearly ceased in many countries for an extended period.
The Patriotic Millionaires group is calling for a 10% tax on all purchases of secondhand private jets, and a 5% tax on new aircraft. This would have raised $2.6bn in tax last year, its report found. The group also wants at least a doubling of fuel taxes on private jet travel, compared with commercial aviation.
Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter and founder of Tesla, was named in the report as “the most active high flyer in the US”.
According to Patriotic Millionaires, Musk bought a new jet, made an estimated 171 flights in 2022, including one that lasted only six minutes, and contributed to the consumption of more than 800,000 litres of jet fuel, and was responsible for more than 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
He would have paid $4m in private jet taxes last year, if the proposed extra levies were implemented, the report calculated.
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A hundred climate activists block private jets at biggest business aviation sales event in Europe, protesting luxury mega-polluters
Greenpeace International
Geneva – A hundred climate activists supporting Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Extinction Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion and other climate movement groups from 17 countries have disrupted Europe’s biggest private jet sales fair, the annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, demanding a ban on private jets. The action follows a series of protests against private jets, including at the Amsterdam Schiphol airport and actions as part of the Make Them Pay campaign, in the past months.[1]
Activists are peacefully occupying jets that are exhibited at the business event by Geneva airport, having chained themselves to aircraft gangways and the exhibition entrance in order to keep prospective buyers from entering. The protestors stuck giant tobacco-style health warning labels on the jets marking them as toxic objects and warning that ‘private jets burn our future’, ‘kill our planet’, and ‘fuel inequality’. Public service announcements from loudspeakers carried by the activists exposed the dramatic consequences of private jets for our planet and revealed the hypocrisy of promoting private jets amidst rising social inequality.
Klara Maria Schenk, transport campaigner for Greenpeace’s Mobility for All campaign, said: “For over 20 years, Europe’s super-rich have popped champagne behind closed doors at EBACE while shopping for the latest toxic private jets. Sales of private jets are skyrocketing, and with them the one percent’s hugely unfair contribution to the climate crisis – while the most vulnerable people deal with the damage. It is high time for politicians to put a stop to this unjust and excessive pollution and ban private jets.”
Mira Kapfinger, campaigner from Stay Grounded, a network combining more than 200 member organisations, said: “Whilst many can’t afford food and rent anymore, the super rich wreck our planet, unless we put an end to it. Apart from banning private jets, it’s also time to end air miles schemes which reward frequent flying, and instead tax frequent flyers. We need fair climate solutions.”
Cordula Markert, spokesperson from Scientist Rebellion Germany, said: “We’re in a climate emergency. Therefore, it is no longer tolerable that the super-rich keep parading themselves in events such as EBACE and keep buying and flying in their private jets for their own benefit, while we know that this fuels the flames of climate breakdown, threatening all of us. They have to be stopped, and that’s why scientists and activists from all over Europe joined together in Geneva, taking action against this madness.”
Joël Perret, spokesperson from Extinction Rebellion Genève, said: “Geneva is home to one of the airports with the most private jet traffic in Europe. This is where change must begin: we need to drastically reduce aviation to halt climate catastrophe and the destruction of life. The first step is to ban private jets now!”
Sales of private jets are expected to reach their highest ever level this year, placing an increasing burden on the planet.[2] According to a recent report, the global fleet of private jets has more than doubled in the last two decades.[3][4] The total value of private aircraft sold in the past decade is estimated by the industry to be approximately US$241 billion.[5]
EBACE is Europe’s largest – and one of the world’s biggest – annual gatherings of business aviation industry stakeholders such as sellers, buyers and producers of private jets, hosted by the European and American private jet industry groups EBAA and NBAA. Roughly half of the more than 10.000 visitors own or operate an aircraft.[6]
According to studies, private flights produce about 10 times the CO2 of a commercial flight per passenger kilometre and cause disproportionate amounts of micro-particle pollution and noise, which are harmful to our health, wellbeing, environment and climate.[7] [8] CO2 emissions from private jet traffic in Europe have reached record levels in recent years, according to a study commissioned by Greenpeace CEE. While the rich resort to the world’s most polluting mobility lifestyle to save a few hours, according to Boeing 80% of the world’s population have never flown, but bear the brunt of the climate crisis.[9] An Oxfam study indicates that 20 million people are displaced by extreme weather every year, forced to flee their homes and dying in droughts and floods caused and exacerbated by the climate crisis.[10]
Private jets and other luxury emissions are not currently regulated as such in Europe and largely excluded from key EU legislation that is supposed to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.[11] This negates the fact that private jets are the most polluting, most energy-wasting and inequitable form of transport per passenger and kilometre.
ENDS
- Spokespeople from Greenpeace, Stay Grounded, Scientist Rebellion, Extinction Rebellion are available for interviews in French, English, German.
- High-res photos and videos will be available shortly in the Greenpeace Media Library
- Download the climate movement’s media briefing on private aviation.
Notes
It is not intended to disrupt commercial air traffic at Geneva Airport. Activists decided not to enter or cross taxiways or runways at any time and only to access service roads. This in no way interferes with the safe operation of flights. The airport authorities (air traffic control and Police) were immediately informed by the activists at the beginning of the action and ongoing contact is maintained by the activists in order to avoid any hazardous situation or misinterpretation by airport authorities of the extent and purpose of the ongoing activity.
[1] 20+ Actions against Private Jets – Stay Grounded
[2] Private jet sales likely to reach highest ever level this year, report says | The Guardian
[4] General Aviation Aircraft Shipment Report
[5] Quarterly Shipments and Billings – GAMA
[6] 2023 European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition
[7] Transport & Environment (2021). Private jets: can the super rich supercharge zero-emission aviation?
[9] Boeing CEO: Over 80% of the world has never taken a flight. We’re leveraging that for growth
[11] Bewältigung der Klimakrise: Schluss mit den Ausnahmen für Superreiche
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