Greenpeace sounds the alarm
The private jets of the WEF elite squander that much CO₂
For just 21 kilometers, one person boarded the plane at the last WEF. Greenpeace warns emissions from private jets will quadruple during WEF week. Meanwhile, those responsible are trying to persuade the delegations to change to the train.
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Greenpeace registered more than 1000 private jet flights during the last week of the WEF in May 2022. (Archive image)
Sarah FrattaroliDeputy Head of Economics
The WEF announced this week that a record number of heads of state and government will travel to Davos GR for this year’s edition. The flip side of the coin: the presidents, prime ministers and other members of the WEF elite rarely travel by train. The private jet seems to many to be the more befitting – and more comfortable – means of transport.
With consequences: The Dutch environmental consulting company CE Delft, commissioned by Greenpeace, took a close look at the flight movements during the last WEF in May 2022. The company counts 1040 private jets for the WEF week. Private jet flights to Zurich, Basel, Altenrhein SG and Samedan GR, among others, were considered because these airports would be used for arrival and departure during the WEF, according to the study authors.
Boarded a plane for 13 miles
The CO2Emissions during the WEF week have quadrupled compared to an average week, the study found. The private jets emitted 9,700 tons of CO during the WEF week2 off – that corresponds to the weekly emissions of 350,000 cars.
Particularly problematic in the eyes of Greenpeace: 38 percent of the private jet flights during the WEF were ultra-short-haul flights of less than 500 km. “Such a distance can easily be covered by train,” says Iris Menn (51), Managing Director of Greenpeace Switzerland. Six percent of the flights were less than 100 km away. The shortest covered just 21 km. The affected flight went from Friedrichshafen (D) to Altenrhein SG – a stone’s throw across Lake Constance. The drive would have taken only an hour by car.
WEF wants to encourage participants to switch
Greenpeace expects a similar number of private jet flights and CO for the forthcoming edition of the WEF next week2-Emissions. Menn calls it “ecological hypocrisy.” What is particularly shocking is that this is now happening again, while some of the warmest January days in measurement history are being recorded across Europe.
In fact, the WEF claims to be climate neutral. All CO2-Emissions would be compensated. However, those responsible admit that transport accounts for the lion’s share of the CO2emissions. According to its own statements, the WEF wants to reduce these emissions – and offers discounts: those who travel by train only have to pay half the participation fee.