Drake’s private jet emitted five tons of CO2 in less than an hour of flying
But it’s not what you think, he insists.
Drake is the latest in a string of celebrities to get dragged for the negative impact their private jets have on the environment — but he wants you to know that it’s not what you think.
The @CelebJets Twitter account, which uses bots to track celebrities’ carbon emissions, found that a pair of short flights Drizzy had taken — one was 14 minutes, the other was 18 minutes — emitted a total of five tons of CO2. That’s more than the annual global emissions for one person.
But the artist, who just surprise-released his album Honestly, Nevermind in June, said that those short flights weren’t him just wasting fuel. Champagne Papi took to the comments section of an Instagram post about the issue, explaining that those flights were for putting the jet in storage, not more of his artist escapades.
“This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics,” he wrote. “Nobody takes that flight.”
He likely left that comment as an attempt at damage control, but other users said that makes it even worse: if a pair of short flights related to storage of the plane is that damaging, imagine how much environmental costs of his jet have piled up otherwise.
Those flights are unlikely to stop anytime soon, though. He’s bringing a new music festival called October World Weekend to Toronto at the end of the month, and he’s preparing for the anniversary edition of his annual OVO Fest as well.
Just weeks ago, Kylie Jenner was labeled as a “climate criminal” for taking minutes-long flights herself. Unlike Drake, she hasn’t responded to the concerns.
Jack Sweeney, the 19-year-old who founded @CelebJets, garnered attention in 2020 when, after he posted details around Elon Musk’s private jet usage, the tech billionaire unsuccessfully attempted to pay him off to take the account down.
“I think it’s important to let people know that these celebrities are flying as much as they are,” Sweeney said in a recent interview. “Give people the power.”
