World Economic Forum Again Slammed For Lecturing Everyday Citizens About Climate Change As Attendees Flew to Davos In Private Jets

The World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, has come under scrutiny again for the apparent contradiction between its focus on climate change and the extensive use of private jets by attendees. 

Every year, thousands of jets fly into surrounding airports to attend the World Economic Forum at Davos. Once these ultra-wealthy individuals land, they're often transported from the Zurich airport and other surrounding airfields via private helicopters or comically large motorcades. Top leaders, billionaires and elites sit behind closed doors and discuss, among other things, reducing climate emissions and becoming carbon neutral. 

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This year, the Zurich Airport noted, "As in previous years, a total of around 1,000 additional flight movements are expected during this period." Several videos, pictures and reports have emerged on social media showing lines of private jets flying in for the event, although it’s unclear whether these were from past years. It's also unclear the exact impact the event had on carbon emissions, but the Zurich Airport seemingly expected a consistent amount of travel increase for the event year over year. 

 A study commissioned by Greenpeace and conducted by the Dutch environmental consultancy CE Delft revealed a significant increase in private jet emissions during the 2022 WEF meeting. 

In 2023, the number of private jet flights to and from airports serving Davos doubled compared to average weeks, leading to CO2 emissions equivalent to 350,000 average cars in the same period. Of these flights, 53% were short-haul trips below 750 kilometers (466 miles), distances that could have been covered by train or car, with 38% being ultra-short trips of under 500 km. The shortest flight recorded was just 21 km.

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About 1 in 10 attendees flew to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting last year, quadrupling the local carbon emissions typically seen in the Davos area. 

The increase in private jet use, particularly for such short distances, raises questions about the commitment of WEF participants to addressing climate change. The World Economic Forum emphasizes environmental threats in its Global Risks Report and advocates for comprehensive climate actions in line with the Paris Agreement. However, the choice of private jets as a mode of transport by attendees, despite their high polluting impact, has been criticized as counterproductive and hypocritical.

Argentina President Javier Millei was praised for taking a commercial flight to the meeting. At the meeting, Millei gave a scathing speech to the audience, which was later praised by Elon Musk on X. The president said, "Those who are supposed to defend the values of the West have been co-opted by a vision of the world that inexorably leads to socialism and therefore to poverty.”

In response to these concerns, some European countries, led by France, have started advocating for EU-wide regulation of private jet emissions. Private jets are known to be significantly more polluting than commercial planes and trains on a per-passenger kilometer basis. For instance, private jets are about 10  times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger and 50 times more polluting than trains.

The situation has sparked a broader debate about the environmental impact of private jet travel and the role of high-profile events like the WEF in addressing climate change effectively and equitably.

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