The impact of superyacht and private jet emissions

Private jets burn far more carbon per passenger than commercial flights. A private jet flight from London to Paris, for example, is 6 times more polluting per passenger than a commercial flight.

This route by private jet would be 12 times more polluting per passenger than a petrol car, and 180 times more polluting per passenger than a Eurostar train.

The super-rich can afford to fly on a private jet as many times as they want, with no consequences. And with private jet ownership and leasing becoming more available as personal wealth increases, the carbon emissions per person is astonishing.

It’s difficult to believe, but it would take the average UK citizen almost 11 years to emit as much carbon as a single long range private jet emits in a round trip from London to New York.

Meanwhile, millions of people who are facing poverty, who’ve done the least to cause the climate crisis, are paying the highest price – loss of loved ones to flooding and drought, damage to homes by storms, and higher bills when food and fuel is scarce.

In 2023 the Oxfam report ‘Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99%’ found that the carbon emissions of the richest 1% of people are enough to cause 1.3 million excess deaths due to heat. This is climate inequality.

It is essential that emissions from private jets and superyachts falls significantly, but at the moment, not enough is being done by governments to reduce these emissions.

Oxfam is one of a number of organisations, including Tax Justice UK and Patriotic Millionaires, calling for higher taxes on the polluting behaviour of the richest. It is vital that these highly polluting ways to travel are taxed heavily enough to discourage their use and reduce their carbon emissions.

Together we build the pressure on the UK and Scottish Governments for the change we need to see.

Further steps to better tax extreme wealth are needed to accelerate climate action and tackle inequality, but properly taxing private jets and superyachts is a common-sense place to start. 

By making polluters pay we can also raise vital funds for investing in the UK’s own fair transition to a fossil free future – like supercharging community renewable energy projects or investing properly in affordable, accessible and clean public transport that benefits everyone.

Superyachts, like private jets, are symbols of an extreme luxury lifestyle choice that come with a significant environmental cost. Their numbers have more than doubled since 2000, with around 150 new superyachts launched every year.

Not only do these giant super-yachts guzzle huge amounts of fuel when sailing, their air conditioning, swimming pools and extensive staff further add to emissions. Despite this, superyachts are exempt from both EU carbon pricing and International Maritime Organization emissions rules.

In Oxfam’s 2024 paper ‘Carbon Inequality Kills’ we looked at 23 superyachts owned by billionaires and found that these floating mansions travelled an average of 12,465 nautical miles a year. This is equivalent to each superyacht crossing the Atlantic almost four times.

Oxfam estimates the average annual carbon footprint of each of these yachts to be 5,672 tonnes. It would take the average person 860 years to emit the same pollution.

The environmental impact of superyachts and private jets is clear. It's time to take action.

Across the UK, fair taxes on the use of private jets and super yachts could raise up to £2 billion a year for climate action and incentivise those who use them to stop.

• Sign our open letter calling for fair taxation of luxury transport and be part of the fight against climate inequality.
• Read about a planet for the 99%.
• Read about how much fair taxes on the UK’s biggest polluters could have raised last year to combat the climate crisis.