An avalanche of private jets polluted the climate conference

The COP29 ended with a derisory agreement in the face of the climate emergency, but also with an embarrassing paradox: Baku airport welcomed twice as many polluting jets as usual. This is the result of our investigation, carried out with the Mémoire vive collective, over the two weeks of the COP29 in Azerbaijan. TotalEnergies, Gazprom… These private jets are mainly used by oil companies, billionaires and governments reluctant to limit their emissions.

To obtain this figure, we worked with Mémoire vive: this collective behind the Bernard's plane account which recorded the billionaire's flights, uses data to make social and ecological injustices visible. This investigation traces the flights of private jets landed in Baku between November 8 and 24, i.e. 150 private jets compared to 66 during the same period last year, marking an increase of 127 %. That is to say, they have more than doubled.

During the first week of the summit, during which heads of state and global economic elites travel, the number of flights in private jets had almost quadrupled, as the first part of our investigation showed.

While 2024 promises to be the hottest year on record, the world climate summit illustrates a glaring paradox: those responsible for the climate crisis converge on board the most polluting means of transport.

Among these flights, many of them are carried out by aircraft in leasing [1] or rental, allowing certain personalities to conceal their identity and mask the extent of their travel by private jet.

The annual broadcasts of more than 700 French people

The explosion of air traffic around Baku during the COP29 has generated massive greenhouse gas emissions. The flights recorded during this period emitted nearly 5,760 tonnes of CO₂ in total. To give an idea of ​​the scale of this quantity, these emissions are equivalent to those generated in one year by 702 average French people. These figures only take into account final journeys to Baku, excluding possible stopovers or return flights, making the actual footprint even heavier.

To account for the overall effects of these air journeys on the atmosphere, our investigation applied a multiplying factor to the greenhouse gas emissions of the jets, taking into account the phenomenon of « radiative forcing ». The latter amplifies the warming effect of aircraft at altitude, in particular via the formation of condensation trails. According to Ademe, 1 kilogram of CO₂ emitted at altitude therefore has a warming effect double, or even triple, that emitted on the ground.

The card takes into account the end of journeys, after a possible stopover. It is possible to move around the map with two fingers on mobile, zoom in and out and click on a flight to see the details of its carbon footprint.

Among the participants in private jets, the emissaries of the fossil fuel giants are in first class. The Boeing of Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, was notably spotted during the first week. In 2019, this Saudi oil giant emitted 1.93 billion tonnes of CO₂more than four times France's annual emissions that year. ExxonMobil, another major oil player, was also seen with its Gulfstream G650ERa few days after an operation greenwashing consisting of calling on Donald Trump to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement to reduce global emissions. The second week, the Russian firm Gazprom, considered one of the three biggest climate criminals in the world, also dispatched a private plane.

The leaders of other multinationals, such as Shell, came aboard their Dassault Falcon 8X. Australian tycoon Andrew « Twiggy » Forrest, boss of the Fortescue Metals Group, a large iron extractor, also traveled to Baku in his personal jet.

As for TotalEnergies, its leaders joined the summit aboard a Bombardier Global 5000. On Friday November 15, the day after his landing, his CEO Patrick Pouyanné participated in a « business lunch » on reducing methane emissions — although methane leaks in the United States, blamed on TotalEnergies, remain massive and poorly controlled, as recently revealed by two ONG and the French media Disclose.

Despite his commitment displayed during the COPTotalEnergies refuses to curb its fossil exploitation activities and forecasts annual growth in its production of 3 % until 2030, trampling on the recommendations of theHIMwhich advocates a reduction of 4 % and 3 % of global oil and gas production, each year, to limit global warming to +1.5°C.

Many heads of state, notably those of the United States, France and Brazil, did not travel to Baku, for various diplomatic reasons. But the leaders of many oil states and right-wing populist governments, often hostile to ecological regulations, went there in force. Among them, representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Hungary responded to President Aliyev's call. The Azerbaijani autocrat hosted this summit where fossil interests continued to eclipse climate goals.

More surprisingly, Reporterre and Memory RAM also spotted the Embraer Legacy 650 jet of Ronaldinho, one of the greatest footballers of all time, guest of the COP29. He notably appeared alongside Rovshan Najaf, president of the Azerbaijan Football Federation… and director of the national oil company. The Brazilian, between Baku and other stops, accumulated nearly 7,200 kilometers of flight in three days, leaving 70 tons of CO₂.

Private jets remain one of the most polluting modes of transport. According to theONG Transport & Environment, a jet passenger emits up to 14 times more CO₂ than a commercial airline passenger, and up to 50 times more than a train passenger. According to a study published on November 7 in the journal Communications Earth & Environmentaffiliated with Naturethe use of these devices, now commonplace among economic elites, has jumped by 46 % between 2019 and 2023.

In 2023, private jets will have emitted as many CO₂ that nearly three million French people, while their users represent only 0.003 % of the world's adult population. Ironically, all accredited participants in the COP29 had free access to public transport in Baku.