(VitalNews.org) – Former presidential candidate and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry is on the defense after critics question him and other “climate leaders” for globe-hopping on fuel-hungry private jets.
Speaking to Yahoo News, Kerry said so-called climate leaders who fly on private jets should get a pass because they are “working harder” than anyone else to stop climate change. Besides, he said, buying “carbon offsets” makes up for any actual damage from the jet use.
Carbon offsets take the form of things such as buying and planting a number of trees that can take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to make up for the carbon emissions being “offset.”
Private jet travel emits 10 times more carbon per person than commercial jets, which can transport larger numbers of people more efficiently.
Kerry said he’s raised the topic of carbon offsets and private jet travel with other “climate leaders” at glamorous conferences such as the Word Economic Forum, which takes place every year in Davos, Switzerland. Attendees this year took at least 150 private jet trips to get there.
More aggressive climate campaigners have sharp words for the jet-setters like Kerry. Klara Maria Schenk of Greenpeace said world officials fly on “ultra-polluting, socially inequitable private jets to discuss climate and inequality behind closed doors.”
Even though he defends the use of private jets for those “working harder” than others to fight climate change, John Kerry has chosen not to use private jets since he took on his Envoy position at the State Department. Instead, he’s used regular commercial jet travel to get to both UN climate summits during his tenure.
According to Fox News Digital, Kerry’s family recently sold its private jet, a Gulfstream, after sharp criticism in 2022 about the jet’s carbon footprint. However, Kerry still defends private jets for climate-fighting travel, saying that his jet allowed him to “fly to meet with people and get things done.”
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