Chris Packham has accused Taylor Swift of not using her ‘enormous power’ to help the environment, and called on her fans to convince her to stop using private jets.
The pop megastar, 34, has faced a lot of criticism over her use of private planes to fly around the world, including for stops on her Eras Tour or to visit boyfriend Travis Kelce, including a 12-hour flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl.
She has been slammed for the lavish travel habit due to her jet’s inevitable release of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which are extremely harmful to the environment.
Taylor’s team has insisted that she loans her jet out, so not all trips are down to her and that she has bought double the amount carbon offsets to compensate her flights.
However, carbon offsets have been criticised, as their effectiveness varies hugely and several people have pointed out they are the ‘bare minimum’ for anyone to offset flights, meaning a billionaire like Taylor could be expect to have a high standard.
Springwatch star Chris, 63, has voiced a similar argument, suggesting that with all the increased attention on Taylor’s emissions, she could use the opportunity to be a vocal advocate for more sustainable travel.
Speaking to The Mirror, he said: ‘I think Taylor Swift has enormous power. She’s speaking to an audience which will have significant problems in their lives due to climate breakdown and biodiversity loss.
‘And she ought to be at the forefront of trying to help their future to become more secure and sustainable. What a missed opportunity. You should actually say: “Do you know what, thank you for pointing that out. I’m going to switch to flying on commercial airliners”.’
Chris insisted that he was not saying she should not travel around for her tour, but that she could take steps to be more environmental.
He proposed that Taylor’s own fans, nicknamed Swifties, could be the ones to persuade her, by showing banners at her concerts asking her to stop using private planes.
He said: ‘We all accept she has to travel the globe – we’re not saying stop touring. We’re saying do it in the most environmentally friendly way that you possibly can.
‘Wouldn’t it be great if all those 16-year-olds turned up at the concert with banners saying: “Drop your private jets”?’
Taylor’s use of private jets received increased scrutiny after college student Jack Sweeney spent months tracking the whereabouts of her plane during her Eras tour.
Springwatch star Chris, 63, has suggested that with all the increased attention on Taylor’s emissions, she could use the opportunity to be a vocal advocate for more sustainable travel
He proposed that Taylor’s own fans, nicknamed Swifties, could be the ones to persuade her, by showing banners at her concerts asking her to stop using private planes (fans pictured on Friday in Edinburgh)
The social media star – who also tracks the flights of tech billionaire Elon Musk – previously claimed that Taylor’s private jet use emitted 83x the amount of CO2 than the average American.
He tweeted: ‘Swift’s two private jets flew 178,000 miles in 2023 equivalent to flying around the Earth seven times, emitting 1,200 tons of CO2 in the process. That’s 83 times the average American.’
However, the The Tortured Poets Department star sent Jack a cease-and-desist letter, demanding her stop logging her flights.
She claimed the accounts caused herself and her family ‘direct and irreparable harm, as well as emotional and physical distress,’ and heightened her ‘constant state of fear for her personal safety’.
But Jack’s lawyers pointed out he had done ‘nothing unlawful’ and that his accounts use publicly available data, and also share the estimates of their planet-warming emissions.
In a letter back, they wrote: ‘Further, your letter’s tone of alarm is unfounded. Our client’s website only provides the location of private jets using publicly available information. That information poses no threat to Ms. Swift’s safety.’
Chris previously said that Taylor had also wasted that opportunity to send a message about sustainability.
He noted that because the hitmaker has ‘primarily a young audience’ and is such a prominent cultural figure, she should be ‘leading’ the way on such matters.
He told The Mirror: ‘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.
‘And so [Jack] 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”. And that would have been such a powerful thing for her to say to an audience.’
It comes as Taylor kicked off the UK leg of her tour last week in Edinburgh, and will now be heading to Liverpool, Cardiff and Wembley.
The Cruel Summer star touched down in Scotland in her private jet at a VIP airport in Edinburgh on Friday, ahead of performances at Murrayfield Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Devoted fans were spotted queuing from 3am, braving the miserable Scottish weather for hours and pitching up tents.
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