The British royal family recently spoke at an environmental summit in Dubai, accusing the world of remaining "seriously off track" on key climate targets. However, just before that, the royal family spent at least £2 million on a private jet and a move that was slammed by environmental charities, calling it "extremely wasteful".
Some of these trips included flights between members of the royal family to and from their British residences, costing tens of thousands of pounds each. There are reports that King Charles and Queen Camilla took a charter flight to Germany at once, spending a staggering £146,219.
In addition, Princess Anne's return flight from Blaise Norton to Edinburgh cost £19,815 for the Six Nations rugby match between Scotland and Wales. In addition, her Platinum Anniversary trip to Australia cost a whopping £51,108 for an additional private jet.
In comparison, Britain's Prince William and Princess Kate chose to take a planned flight when they traveled to Boston for the Earthshot Prize last year, with the total cost of the trip being just £48,034.
Meanwhile, the royal family spent £1,020,297 on 179 *** flights in the same year, which means that private jets and *** flights cost more than £2 million. However, the actual cost may be higher because the exact cost of some trips is not disclosed.
The data shows that the British royal family emitted 1,615 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent during official trips in the same year. That's equivalent to the emissions of electricity consumed by 314 households in a year, or more than 4 million miles driven by an average gasoline vehicle.
Alethea Warrington, of environmental charity Possible, said: "Private jets are extremely wasteful, create huge emissions and should be banned. For the royal family, who should set a good example, it is unacceptable for them to fly these aircraft, especially with **. ”
Buckingham Palace responded: "The royal family seeks to find the best balance between safety, security, efficiency and the need to minimise disruption to others when planning the transport of members of the royal family." Sustainable aviation fuel will be used wherever available. ”
Finally, the British royal family has made a strong voice in pursuing an environmental agenda, yet their use of private jets and *** is questionable. Environmental groups are calling on the royal family to lead by example by banning this extremely wasteful mode of transport and advocating for sustainable modes of travel. In this way, they will be better able to lead the global effort to combat climate change.