Bill Gates and Emma Watson are among the celebrities with the biggest carbon footprint recorded by Lund University in Sweden.
Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates emerged as the top celebrity with the biggest carbon footprint, having taken 59 flights in 2017 and travelling 343,000km (213,000 miles), according to the study Celebrities, Air Travel, and Social Norms published in the Annals of Tourism Research. Researchers believe he flew in his private jet and estimated that his flights resulted in 1,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2017 alone.
Socialite Paris Hilton was in the second spot with a total of 68 flights in the same year, recording 170,877 miles and over 1,261 tonnes of CO2. Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez took 77 flights in 2017 that were equivalent to 139,187 miles and produced 105 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
British actress Emma Watson landed in the 10th spot with 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Researchers traced her 14 flights in 2017 with 42,253 miles traveled in 2017. According to the study, Watson stopped using private jets and fly on commercial planes instead. Her publicist reportedly informed The Independent that Watson "pays to offset all of her air travel carbon emissions through ClimateCare.org”.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Quibi Chief Executive officer Meg Whitman, late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, racer Felix von der Laden and footballer Andre Schurrle all made it to the top 10 list.
The data for the study were taken from each of the celebrity’s social media accounts throughout 2017.
“It’s increasingly looking like the climate crisis can’t be addressed while a small but growing group of super-emitters continue to increase their energy consumption and portray such lifestyles as desirable through their social media channels,” said Stefan Gossling, lead author of the study.
