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The latest in a string of repeated allegations against the UN climate conference, several tweets on social media criticized participants for flying by private aircraft to the COP27 in Egypt.
The number of such aircraft transporting attendees to the conference in the seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was estimated in posts and reports in a variety of ways. One of the primary focuses of climate-skeptic communications during COP27, according to a study released on Thursday by Climate Action Against Disinformation, a nonprofit that tracks trends in incorrect information on social media.
The widespread rumours that 400 private planes arrived at COP27 were confirmed by Egyptian authorities. Even though there could have been private planes that weren’t detected by monitoring agencies, several media outlets quoted lower figures from flight-tracking services.
One false Spanish post said that there may be 1,500 private planes. A vintage image of a jet from a Las Vegas aviation conference was attached to it.
A talk-show presenter associated with the Egyptian government, Ahmed Moussa, stated on television on November 6 that “Over 300 private aircraft landed at the airport in Sharm el-Sheikh. In order to accommodate the visitors of COP27, the airport underwent renovation and added extra hallways.”
Comparison to COP26
During the most recent UN climate meeting, COP26, which was held in Glasgow in November 2021, criticisms of private planes also increased. The number of planes utilised during the event, according to media reports, ranged from less than 200 to almost 400.
AFP fact-checked articles from that time period in a number of different languages that included a picture of aircraft parked on a runway and claimed that the leaders at COP26 utilised them. The picture of jets at a New Orleans airport was really shot years earlier, according to reverse image searches.
However, the COP27 delegates were being criticised by more than simply purveyors of misleading information.
At Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport on November 5, hundreds of climate activists, some riding bicycles, occupied a private jet apron to demand the outlawing of such aircraft. Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace, two environmental organizations, organised the protest.
emissions from a private jet
Private jet passengers generate significantly more greenhouse gas emissions per person than do passengers on commercial flights.
A private jet can produce two tonnes of carbon dioxide in an hour and is five to fourteen times more polluting per passenger than a commercial aircraft, according to the European clean transportation advocacy group Transport and Environment.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s online emissions calculator, a passenger travelling in premium class on a commercial flight from London to Sharm el-Sheikh would generate about half a tonne of carbon dioxide overall.
At the COP27, delegates are holding high-level discussions on scaling up finance for developing countries to green their economies and prepare for the effects of global warming. There are more than 33,000 participants registered there.
