A single Boeing 747-400 aircraft can emit up to 92kg of CO2 per hour, according to CarbonIndependent.org. For long-haul international flights, this can equate to several tonnes of CO2 being emitted.
For world leaders, who fly between global capitals as part of their job, the resultant carbon footprint is a significant sum. A study by online travel website FromAtoB compared G20 world leaders based on their flight-based carbon emissions from trips undertaken in 2018, in order to list the top ten world leaders by carbon footprint.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi emerged seventh on the list, with 7,477 tonnes of CO2 of aircraft emissions in 2018. According to the prime minister’s website, Modi undertook 14 foreign trips in 2018. His list of destinations included Switzerland, Jordan, Palestine, UAE, Oman, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Nepal, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Nepal, Singapore, Maldives, and Argentina.
Whichever aircraft that PM Modi flies in is dubbed 'Air India One', with the range of craft including a Boeing 747-400, the Embraer-135, and the newer Boeing 777-300ER that was introduced into the fleet in early 2018. According to FromAtoB, in 2018, Modi travelled 147,329km on the Boeing 777-300ER which emitted 51kg of CO2 per km.
At the top of the list was Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose international trips resulted in 14,442 tons of CO2. Abe is notably well-travelled, visiting 50 countries in his first two years as PM and 135 countries in total by 2017, according to the latest data by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, his Boeing 747-400 had one of the highest carbon footprints of a G20 leader, emitting 70kg per km.
US President Donald Trump came close after Abe at second place, with 11,487 tonnes of CO2 emissions from international trips in 2018. Trump's aircraft, however, emitted more CO2 per km than that of other leaders, at 88 kg per km.
South Korea’s Moon Jae-in was just a few dozen tons short of Trump's total tally at 11,461 tonnes of CO2. Xi Jinping came in at number four with 8,289 tonnes of emissions, followed by Emmanuel Macron's (7,645 tonnes) and Vladimir Putin (7,616 tonnes).
According to Statista, the study accounted for the differences in mode of transport, with smaller planes like the ones used by Spanish Prime Ministers Mariano Rajoy (2011-2018) and Pedro Sanchez (2018-present) emitting less on account of using the smaller Falcon 900 jet. The smaller plane of former British PM Theresa May also helped lower her carbon emissions.
According to the World Bank, per capita CO2 emissions in India were 1.728 tonnes in 2014.
