One private-jet flight pollutes as much as a person does in a year — research

An average private-jet flight emits roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide as one person in a full year, according to fresh Oxfam research. One such journey may last hours, with estimated emissions reaching 3.7 tonnes of CO₂.

Private jets collectively emitted 16 million tonnes of CO₂ in 2025, the charity says in its Disaster Divide report, published on October 27. They spent more than 6.5 million hours airborne, equivalent to roughly 750 years.

The comparison concerns emissions from an entire aircraft’s flight, rather than each passenger. Oxfam based its estimates on private-jet tracking data, alongside published aviation research.

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Luxury travel, shared consequences

Oxfam estimates that private aviation serves around 250,000 people, approximately 0.003% of the global population. Its report uses the sector to illustrate how a small group can consume a disproportionate share of the world’s carbon budget.

Across the entire private-jet fleet, emissions averaged over the year exceed in just two seconds what someone in the poorest half of humanity produces annually, the charity says.

«The climate crisis is often described as a shared human challenge. It is not,» said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International’s executive director.

The report’s broader estimate is that the richest 0.1%—around eight million people—generate more consumption-based emissions than the poorest 3.5 billion combined. Those footprints include spending on transport, housing, food and other goods and services.

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Oxfam wants luxury pollution taxed

Ahead of the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye, Oxfam is calling for steep taxes on private jets and other highly polluting luxuries, alongside higher taxes on extreme wealth and fossil fuel companies.

It argued that the proceeds should help vulnerable communities prepare for disasters through grants rather than loans.

The charity also accuses wealthy investors of benefiting from both polluting industries and disaster recovery, in what Behar described as «charging the rest of us for the extinguishers».

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