The global pop icon has been accused of using more than 1,000 times the fuel consumption of the average person as she circumnavigates the world in her jet-for-one
Chris Packham has called on fans flocking to Taylor Swift gigs to carry banners in protest at her extravagant use of private jets.
The global pop icon has been accused of using more than 1,000 times the fuel consumption of the average person as she circumnavigates the world in her jet-for-one.
Springwatch star Chris says Taylor has failed to admit her mistakes and clean up her act. 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’.
“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.”
Chris, 63, would love to see the young people attending Taylor’s record-breaking Eras Tour, currently in the UK, taking a stand. He added: “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 publicist says the Shake It Off singer has bought “double the amount” of carbon offsets needed to compensate her travel for the Eras Tour before it kicked off in March. But critics claim offsets give the rich a right to pollute while continuing with their lifestyles.
The singer, 34, owns a Dassault Falcon 7X worth £42million. She has been using the jet as her main mode of transport for the tour. Chris was speaking ahead of the final week of Springwatch on BBC2, which is popular with young people on social media.
He said: “When it comes to the forthcoming election, people are talking about the state of our rivers, the state of our seas with sewage and agriculture. People are aware of the fact that our environment is in peril. And that’s a turning point.
“I hope we can do something about it. But people will only be motivated to do that if they care. And our duty here at Springwatch is to make them care.”
- Springwatch is on BBC2 from Monday to Thursday at 8pm.