European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made headlines this week for taking a private jet to travel just 31 miles – a story which came out as she held opening talks at COP26 urging “all of us to do whatever it takes now to limit global warming to 1.5°C”.
Europe’s leading clean transport campaign group T&E says private jets are 5-14 times more polluting than commercial planes, and 50 times more polluting than trains.
von der Leyen’s 19-minute journey from nearby Vienna and Bratislava in June as part of a tour of EU capitals would’ve emitted nearly one tonne of CO2 – T&E says a private jet can emit two tonnes of CO2 in just one hour.
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