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Taylor Swift Faces Immense Backlash Over Outstanding Jet Use

Taylor Swift is again under scrutiny for emitting significant CO2 in her private jet usage as she travels to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during this football season.
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Taylor Swift is again under scrutiny for emitting significant CO2 in her private jet usage as she travels to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during this football season.

According to a 2023 research paper from University College London, private jet trips are the most carbon-intensive, producing 9x more carbon per passenger than commercial flights.

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With the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, there’s speculation about Swift covering a 14,000-mile journey, from a concert in Tokyo on February 10 to the game in Las Vegas on February 11 and then to Melbourne in time for her next show on February 16, reigniting the debate over private plane owners’ responsibility for emissions. 

Carbon emissions contribute to climate change, leading to rising temperatures and extreme weather events. These emissions result in air pollution, impacting human health and the environment.

Environmentalists like Greta Thunberg call for a private jet ban, mentioning, “It is clear that private jets are incompatible with ensuring present and future living conditions on this planet.”

Meanwhile, Bill Gates suggests carbon offsets—investments in projects such as renewable energy, reforestation, and methane capture. They’re designed to counterbalance greenhouse gas emissions by reducing or removing an equivalent amount of emissions elsewhere.

The “Cruel Summer” singer’s publicist claims she buys these offsets, stating, “Taylor purchased more than double the carbon credits needed to offset all tour travel.”

Legal scholars and Congress propose taxing private jets, like the Fueling Alternative Transportation with a Carbon Aviation Tax (FATCAT) Act. Swift’s Falcon 900 and Falcon 7X’s tax could net $5.4 million.

Canada taxes private jet sales, an approach the U.S. took between 1991-1993 that failed. The tax prompted some individuals to make their high-end purchases abroad to avoid the tax. Swift’s private jet operating costs amount to about $19 million annually. If taxed, the impact on her income would be minimal compared to her estimated $2 billion earnings last year.

Despite past tax challenges, alternatives like flying first class or watching events at home remain practical and environmentally friendly.