Chris Packham slams Meghan and Harry (Image: Getty)
Chris Packham has hit out at A-listers who fly privately (Image: -)
TV environmentalist and star has called for more celebrities to speak up about climate change – and blasts “disappointing” superstars for using private jets.
The rich and famous – including and Jay Z, Kim Kardashian and – are driving up C02 emissions with their use of private jets.
Meghan and Harry are said to fly in a lavish 12-seater Cessna jet, which has spacious bathrooms, on-board wifi and reportedly costs a whopping £6m. However, it is not known whether they have purchased it themselves or if they hire it.
But singer Taylor Swift is the worst offender.
Chris said: “She is one of the most powerful people on the planet when it comes to communicating on social media. She should be a role model and assure young people of a better future by ditching those jets.
“The vast majority of her fans are young. There are lots of other rock stars but their audience isn’t going to inherit a world that has been burnt to the ground because of climate breakdown.
“If she genuinely cared about their future she wouldn’t be going around the world on her private jets. That’s basically saying “I don’t care about you.” If she can communicate with that many young people, you have a responsibility whether you like it or not.”
Taylor Swift is one of the worst offenders for flying privately (Image: Getty Images)
Talking about celebrities who use private jets, he added: “You have inherited or grown that responsibility. Your responsibility is to do good for them and by buzzing around the world in those jets, that’s not doing good for them. That’s doing them harm.
“And it’s normalising it which enables other private jet fliers and therefore those young people think it’s okay. Well she ought to be saying I can’t do this anymore and I’m going to change my habit.
“That’s what we all have to do now. We have to change our habits. And to waste this opportunity at this critical time I think is really disappointing.”
Don’t miss… [VERDICT ] [INSIGHT ]
Meghan and Harry are quick to speak about climate change – but also fly privately (Image: -)
In a 2022 study, the sustainability marketing firm Yard, discovered that Swift’s jet flew 170 times between Jan. 1 and July 19 (the window for the Yard study), totaling 22,923 minutes, or 15.9 days, in the air. That output has created estimated total flight emissions of 8,293.54 tonnes of carbon, which Yard says is 1,184.8 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions.
Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry previously came under fire for using a private jet on multiple occasions after warning of the dangers of climate change.
However, The Sun reported they took four private jet flights in just 11 days in 2019, with Harry famously attending a climate change summit in a small jet, before heading to Ibiza with Meghan and Archie.
They then flew to the South of France in ‘s jet, also a 12-seater Cessna plane – the fourth private jet journey in 11 days. In September 2023 the couple was also revealed to have taken a whopping seven international flights over just two weeks.
Chris’ new book Little Experts: Superhero Plants shines a light on the world’s most amazing plants as they battle climate breakdown.
And he says more celebrities must speak up about climate breakdown adding: “It would ease the burden.”