Taylor Swift's private jet has emitted more carbon than any other celebrity's plane, according to a new report from UK-based digital marketing agency Yard.
The private jet used by Swift, which is also rented by other people, has been in the air for 22,923 minutes this year, completing 170 flights with the shortest journey a 36-minute flight from Missouri to Nashville.
Emissions clocked up on the jet represent 1,184 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions.
But the singer isn’t admitting fault.
“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals. To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect,” a representative for the singer told Rolling Stones magazine, which contacted all the celebrities on the list.
Yard said the rankings are based on the biggest offenders according to data on the Celebrity Jets Twitter account, which tracks private aircraft owned by A-listers, but admitted it was not conclusive.
The marketing company also confirmed that data was based on the planes and their time in the air, rather than whether celebrities were passengers on each of the recorded journeys.
According to the report, jets owned by A-listers have emitted an average of 3,376.64 tonnes of CO2 emissions so far this year. That's more than 480 times above the average person’s annual emissions.
Other top offending jets include ones used by Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott and Oprah Winfrey.
A jet owned by boxing legend Floyd Mayweather is also among the worst culprits.
The sportsman ranked second after his jet emitted more than 7,000 tonnes of CO2 this year. Mayweather's $50 million plane has flown more times than any other on the list, averaging around 25 flights per month. The retired boxer also has the shortest trip in the ranking, with a 10-minute jaunt in Las Vegas.
“It’s easy to get lost in the dazzling lives of the rich and famous, but unfortunately, they’re a massive part of the CO2 problem we have with the aviation industry,” said Chris Butterworth, digital sustainability director at Yard.
“Research shows a vast divide between the super-rich and the rest of us regarding flights, travel, and even general emissions.”
The worst private jets used by celebrities
1. Taylor Swift
2. Floyd Mayweather
3. Jay-Z
4. Alex Rodriguez
5. Blake Shelton
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Kim Kardashian
8. Mark Wahlberg
9. Oprah Winfrey
10. Travis Scott
Kylie Jenner, who sparked a social media backlash last week after posting a picture of hers and Travis Scott’s planes on Instagram, didn’t rank in the top 10.
Instead, the reality TV star was the 19th worst celebrity for CO2 offences via private jet, but her partner rounded out the top 10.
Yard compiled the rankings by scraping data from Celebrity Jets, which was cross-compared to the general population’s CO2 emissions and each celebrity's CO2. It considers the number of flights each star's jet has taken, the average length of each flight, distance travelled and the total CO2 emissions created from flying since the start of 2022.
Earlier this week, Drake was called out after the same Celebrity Jets Twitter account revealed his Boeing 767 had taken multiple short flights, including one lasting only seven minutes.
The Canadian singer attempted to defend the flights, posting on Instagram that “This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics … nobody takes that flight.”
However, critics responded that empty flights were even worse for the environment, as the pollution created was even more futile.
Because they carry so few people, private jets are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger, according to Transport and Environment, a clean transport campaign group in Europe.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE
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Japan
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Canada
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MATCH INFO
Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 214/8 (20 ovs)
Kolkata won by 31 runs
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Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
The%20specs
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
