Taylor Swift Facing More Heat for Her Extensive Private Jet Use

The host of the BBC's environmental show 'Springwatch' called on Swift to cut her carbon emissions.

By Michael Hein

Taylor Swift has been taking heat for flying her private jet for over a year now, and British TV star Chris Packham just added his voice to the fray. Packham told The Mirror that Swift's extensive travels on the plane are "absurd," and called on her publicly to stop. He felt that she is in a unique position to lead by example when it comes to climate change reduction.

Packham is an English photographer, author and TV host known for his advocacy on behalf of environmental causes. He has been hosting the BBC's annual Springwatch series since 2009, and was promoting a string of special broadcasts in late May and early June when he criticized Swift. He cited reports that Swift had flown approximately 178,000 miles between her two private planes in 2023, and was continuing to utilize them on her Eras Tour. He was disturbed to hear about her cease-and-desist letter to Jack Sweeney, the creator of the social media accounts that reported the take-offs and landings of celebrity jets.

"We know that private jets are the single greatest contributor when it comes to jet aviation fuel and the least efficient because they're carrying one person," Packham said. "And so [Sweeney] called her out and she threatened to sue him. And I just thought, 'You really missed the trick there, Taylor.' What you should have said is, 'You're right, times have moved on. I've got to change my practice. I'm going to sell my private jets.'"

"That would have been such a powerful thing for her to say to an audience," Packham went on. "And I mean, her audience is primarily a young audience, isn't it? I mean, you can't say she's responsible for climate breakdown. But she's an icon. And as a consequence of that, she should be leading."

There is a lot of reliable data out there to show that travel by private jet is a huge contributor to climate change, and Swift is not the only one to be criticized for it. Like others, she came under the spotlight when Sweeney's posts highlighted how frivolous some of her trips are. Some showed her flying short distances that could have been covered in a car, while others showed her making long trips for short stays, only to return again over that great distance.

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Last year, an official spokesperson for Swift said that the singer had purchased more than double the carbon credits required to offset all of her private flights. Carbon credits allow corporations or wealthy individuals to show they have invested in green energy in order to "offset" their emissions, though this system has been heavily criticized by some environmentalists. However, some of Swift's defenders have also said that flying private is her only choice to avoid the clamor of fans. Swift has not tried to lean on that point herself.

Swift is currently on the European leg of her Eras World Tour, and is utilizing her private jet to get around. The billionaire singer has avoided discussing this controversy where possible. 

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