Emissions from Roman Abramovich’s vehicles are 3 times more than Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos combined

A recent study found that the world’s billionaires have a carbon footprint thousands of times higher than the average American. This list is only researched on individual billionaires with hobbies such as yachts, airplanes and mansions… and not based on their businesses.

Topping the aforementioned list by a margin is the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich, who counts only the amount of money emissions carbon generated is 33,859 tons of CO2 per year and it is more than the emissions of many countries. Small island nations such as Tonga, Kiribati and Nauru all have carbon emissions of less than 0.1 Mt (10,000 tons) of CO2 per year. Meanwhile, the average person in China has a carbon footprint of only 6 tons/year.

Billionaire Abramovich. Photo: Reuters

What’s amazing is that Abramovich’s carbon footprint is essentially significantly larger than that of everyone else on this list, including the three richest people in the world, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Despite the fact that the Russian billionaire’s wealth is much less than the three above. In fact, three people’s cumulative carbon footprint is only one-third that of Abramovich.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity as a whole. Scientists paint a dire picture by predicting that the earth’s temperature will rise by 4 degrees Celsius in the 21st century if the problem is not solved immediately. Switching to renewable energy sources and adopting faster sustainable mobility are just a few of the ways countries are adopting to control climate change.

Superyachts are the pinnacle of wealth expression. The world’s billionaires have grown rich during the pandemic, as demonstrated by the boom in the yachting industry. In 2021 alone, 887 superyachts were sold, an increase of more than 75% compared to the previous year. However, superyachts are also the biggest cause of air pollution. Environmentalists claim that the average superyacht can generate 1,500 times more carbon than a typical family car. Based on that, billionaire Abramovich owns not one, but two of the largest superyachts in the world, generating large amounts of CO2 emissions.

The yacht of billionaire Abramovich. Photo: Charterworld.com

The method of estimating the carbon footprint of a superyacht is by analyzing the amount of CO2 generated by the internal combustion engines that power the ship per nautical mile and then calculating the total pollution caused over a period of time. year by comparison with publicly available marine data. Research shows that the Russian billionaire’s $700 million Eclipse yacht generated 25,100 tons of CO2 in 2018, 12 times more than Jeff Bezos, who generates 2,053 tons of CO2 per year.

In fact, the ship caused more pollution than the average contribution of nearly 1,700 Americans. Eclipse has 4 MTU engines for a top speed of 39.8 km/h and can accommodate up to 36 guests in 18 rooms with 66 crew members.

The second superyacht of billionaire Roman Abramovich, Solaris, worth $600 million, has just been handed over, so the amount of carbon cannot be calculated. However, according to Luxury Launches, this yacht also has 4 MTU engines and reaches a top speed of 33.3 km / h, what if experts add 20,000 tons of CO2 per year to Abramovich. So, the total amount of CO2 this billionaire emits will be more than 50,000 tons?

CO2 emissions generated from the world’s billionaire vehicles. Photo: Theconversation.com

In addition to yachts, Abramovich also owns the most expensive private jet in the world – the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. The plane has a base price of $250 million, while customizations and additional equipment add up to $100 million in costs, bringing the total to $350 million. The plane cabin is customized to fit 50 passengers and finished to the billionaire’s taste, the dining room alone can accommodate 30 guests.

Besides the Dreamliner, Abramovich also has a $65 million Gulfstream G650 that can hold 11-18 passengers. Abramovich is also said to own three helicopters, including an Airbus EC155 Dauphin and EC145. It is estimated that the amount of CO2 emitted by Abramovich’s fleet is about 8,500 tons per year.

According to Phuong Kim