On Yard's 2022 list of the top 10 celebrity carbon polluters, pop star Taylor Swift was No. 1.
Swift's 170 private jet flights in 2022 racked up 22,923 minutes of air time, creating 9,142 tons of carbon emissions. This, Yard reported, was 1,202.8 times more than an average person's yearly emissions.
Reacting to Swift's immense carbon footprint, one Reddit user shared criticisms of the singer on r/travisandtaylor.
The post features photographs of Swift boarding her private jet under the protection of a bubble of black umbrellas.
"Hiding under 10+ umbrellas next to my private jet so people won't talk about me destroying the planet," the original poster mocked last month.
The celebrity, via her publicist, has acknowledged her pollution, the BBC reported in 2024, and purchases carbon offsets to make up for it.
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MIT News, however, noted that there is a "lack of clear international regulations to define and monitor the claimed emissions reductions." Carbon credits in the United States are not as well-regulated as those in British Columbia or parts of Europe, for example.
So, it is tough to say whether Swift's efforts have been effective.
Still, celebrities including Swift rely on carbon credits to offset the damage they do to the planet with their private jets and megayachts.
According to PBS, 4% of human-caused heat-trapping gas pollution comes from aviation, and 1.8% of that comes from private jets.
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Should the ultra-wealthy pay a tax to help offset their environmental impact?
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Absolutely 💯 Heat-trapping gases from the burning of coal, oil, and gas are the leading contributors to rising global temperatures. This heat shifts the planet's climate, causing droughts, species loss, food shortages, and disease, according to the United Nations.
As Earth continues to be in jeopardy, Swift and other ultrawealthy people continue to live in excess.
Commenters on the Reddit post were put off by Swift's actions.
"This is such a weird world we live in," one said.
Another wrote: "People are still gonna talk about it. She's only drawing more attention to herself."
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