Opinion – Kylie’s ‘climate criminal’ controversy is part of wider issue

The billionaire has faced a torrent of intense criticism amid reports that she frequently uses her private jet for brief journeys, despite mounting concerns over the deteriorating state of our planet.

Earlier this week, as a troubling number of countries across the globe scrambled to cope with unprecedented heatwaves courtesy of the ever-worsening state of our planet, Kylie Jenner was asking her 360 million Instagram followers which luxury aircraft she should take.

The post was instantly met with a torrent of intense criticism towards the billionaire’s blatant insensitivity and out-of-touch display of opulence amid a period of uncertainty regarding the Earth’s future.

Yet it wasn’t the tactless boasting of having his-and-hers private jets with Travis Scott that’s earned Jenner the apt title of ‘climate criminal.’

Rather the subsequent findings of internet sleuths sick and tired of letting the one per cent get away with doing nothing to combat the ongoing environmental crisis.

Kylie Jenner's Jet Took off from Camarillo, California, US. Going to Van Nuys, California, US (VNY, Van Nuys Airport) arriving in ~3m. pic.twitter.com/Jo0ZAfaJ69

— Celebrity Jets (@CelebJets) July 13, 2022

They uncovered, thanks to CelebJets, Jenner’s habit of casually travelling around California in her $72 million plane to avoid spending too much time en route.

What looks to be the problem here is that, for Jenner, a mere hour in any of her twenty seven cars – a collection worth $6 million – is an hour too long, and it’s for this reason that the mogul’s most incomprehensible offence is a 17 minute flight to save her a 45 minute drive with the potential to *gasp* land her in traffic.

Really Kylie? In this climate?

‘Why do I have to limit my meat consumption and use paper straws while the 1% gets to pump tons of carbon into the atmosphere for a day trip to Palm Springs?’ a Twitter comment reads, pointing out the discrepancy between public consumption and the sickeningly wasteful ways of the wealthy.

every time a paper straw begins to dissolve into my drink, I think about how Kylie Jenner uses a private jet for 3 min flights and I get mind numbingly angry 🥰

— maddie (@maddiemevans) July 18, 2022

‘80% of people have never taken a plane and Kylie Jenner is out here taking regular ten-minute flights, 5 flights in the last week under 30 minutes, one was 3 minutes long. Her carbon footprint for one ten minute flight, is more than some people make in a year,’ reads another, referring to the fact that ‘Kylie Air’ can emit over 2 tonnes of greenhouse gases in just an hour – an amount it takes an entire year for a car to produce – and is five to 14 times more polluting than a commercial plane.

Now, though it remains unclear if Jenner herself was actually onboard during these short trips, even if she wasn’t, it’s clear that her cushty aircraft is creating a carbon footprint leaps and bounds more extreme than whatever us eco-conscious individuals are doing to limit our impact.