When David Cameron was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010-2016) he was seen several times flying on Ryanair and Easyjet planes on private trips. The politician's flight companions on a low-cost airline, surprised by his presence, secretly took photos of Cameron doing what any other traveler heading to Portugal, the Canary Islands or Mallorca: spending time reading, listening to music or eating some Pringles in your seat.
After his post-Brexit resignation, Cameron returned to the front line of politics a few days ago. He has been rescued by his successor, Rishi Sunak, who has entrusted him with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of his government. In his new role as Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, his first major international event is COP 28, the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2023 that is being held these days in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Cameron did not fly from London to the emirate on a commercial plane, but, as a member of the executive, had at his disposal one of the government jets for transporting personalities. As important figures in their country, King Charles III and Prime Minister Sunak have also traveled to Dubai to attend the summit, although each has landed there on different VIP planes. Three private flights with the same origin and destination and to talk about the same thing: serious global warming and its possible, although complicated, solutions.
Shortly after disembarking from the jet that transported him to COP 28, the monarch gave a speech in which, among other phrases, "Our survival is in danger" stood out, calling for a "call to arms to repair and restore the economy of nature." " and indicated that "This conference is an opportunity that we cannot miss to keep hope alive."
The well-intentioned words of King Charles contrast with the decision that the head of state himself and other members of his government have used different reactors to reach an event that precisely discusses measures to reduce emissions emitted by machines such as these private or state jets. . And for COP 28 the same formula as the previous edition is being repeated: more than three hundred VIP planes then arrived at the Sharm el Sheik airport, the Egyptian resort city where the previous climate summit was held.
Not only did summit attendees arrive in Egypt on executive planes, but dozens of commercial and charter flights landed there from different parts of the world and the national company, Egyptair, prepared a special airlift of more than 250 trips from Cairo to be able to manage the travel of the thousands of delegates attending that global event.
For the current summit, 70,000 people have been accredited, a number that has multiplied the number of attendees in the first editions held in the early 90s, a number that is already being questioned due to its necessity and suitability. This inflation in the number of participants multiplies the travel needs and in the case of Dubai, except for some delegates from neighboring emirates, practically all attendees have arrived there by air. A good part has arrived on commercial flights, although almost all heads of state, government, ministers, as well as senior executives of corporations that want to have a presence there, have used corporate or VIP planes to travel to COP 28.
The previous summit venue, in Sharm El Sheikh, had a limited scheduled flight network. As a seaside resort and eminently tourist place, commercial flights from there are basically to and from EU capitals, Turkish and Russian cities and some from former Soviet republics. This limitation could serve as an apparent justification for the notable use of private planes in order to reach COP 27 in 2022. However, Dubai, venue of the current summit, is one of the cities in the world best connected by air.
From the airport of that emirate, which is the major hub of the Emirates airline, you can travel on commercial flights to practically the entire planet without stops. Furthermore, for those people who rarely give up flying on their own or their government's jet, the company offers a notable business class on all its flights and a brilliant First Class on part of its network that satisfies the most demanding traveler.
A flight from Europe to Dubai on a private plane is about 11 times more polluting per passenger than on a commercial plane that covers the same route. Thus, the use of this type of transportation by figures who proclaim that important changes must be led undermines the objective of a climate conference. In society this is seen as a disconnection between environmental concerns and individual actions and in the direct case of COP 28, a lack of commitment to the sustainable practices that are so talked about these days in Dubai.
All of the above should not overshadow the fact that in recent years airline companies and manufacturers have made efforts and publicized actions to reduce their carbon footprint: new engines, transition fuels and new ways of flying. The intentions are serious, although even more commitment is needed from governments for the desired and difficult decarbonization of the sector.
Seeing what happened aeronautically in Egypt last year and this year in Dubai with private flights, it is inevitable to remember a similar anecdote from Nixon's time. 50 years ago, the environment was not a priority, although there was concern about fuel shortages due to the oil crisis of 1973. To set an example, the team of Richard Milhous Nixon, 37th president of the United States, decided to set an example for his compatriots. during the energy crisis.
After spending Christmas in Washington, on December 26, 1973, the president and his family, along with a small security team, took a United Airlines Douglas DC-10 from the country's capital to Los Angeles. The entire business class area of the plane was reserved and the group's presence on board was kept secret until the plane arrived in California and they left the airport, to be later publicized by the communications department. Nixon was the first and only US president who traveled on a regular flight during his term, although objectively it was very questionable, since days later the Boeing 707 that was then Air Force One left Washington empty to pick up the group in California and return to the White House in the official Boeing and by helicopter, neutralizing all the supposed savings with the previous action. Actions and intentions that seem cyclical half a century later.
