Last Friday, I was arrested along with a group of climate activists for blocking the entrance to the East Hampton airport in New York and stopping private jet arrivals and departures. Many people have asked me why.

The truth is I am terrified of the future of our climate, and I believe that non-violent civil disobedience is the best way to create transformative change. I have covered disruptive protest and social issues in my films, and supported movements through philanthropy. So, at 63, I decided it was time for me to stand in protest with other activists, to put my body on the line.

My father owned a 737 with a queen-sized bed. I loved that thing so much. I loved the men and women who flew the plane and took care of the plane, people I’d known since childhood.

It all seemed so benign, and when something makes your life so seamless that you barely notice what you are doing, it can be difficult to acknowledge the problems you are causing, especially when those problems are impersonal and remote.

But one day, flying all alone from California to New York, I had an epiphany. My comfort and convenience suddenly seemed like ridiculously small issues when held up against the climate freight-train that is barreling down the tracks at us.

Our planet is wrapped in a blanket of pollution so thick and unforgiving that it is becoming unlivable. While my one flight across the country was not enough to cause this on its own, I was still contributing to a catastrophic collective consequence that everyone else on Earth is already paying for.

The life of a wealthy person burns up a lot of carbon – through superyachts, frequent travel on private jets and helicopters, and multiple enormous homes. According to Oxfam, billionaires emit a million times more greenhouse gases than the average person.

This is not an accusation. My father was a good and decent man, and so are most of the people who own private planes. But we are facing an active emergency, and decency is worthless when unaccompanied by meaningful action, including a vigorous inquiry into the consequences of our personal choices and preferences. And niceness is a hollow virtue if we do not lift a finger to keep our children and grandchildren safe.

It is a rich irony that most of the focus on behavior change in the face of climate change centers around the small changes working-class Americans should make, from giving up plastic straws to paying exorbitant gas taxes, to recycling and composting.

But what have we asked of the wealthy? If just a handful of very wealthy people were to change just a handful of their behaviors, they could make more of a difference in one trip than millions of working-class people can in their lifetimes. Just a four-hour flight on a private jet will burn as much carbon as the average person does in a year.

Yes, the people who own private jets make up a small sliver of the population. It’s tempting to think it’s not a significant enough number to make a difference. But the number of private planes only grows. Since the beginning of the pandemic, private jet use has jumped an astonishing 23%. Some 5.3m private jet flights occurred in 2022 alone, with the total expected to jump again in 2023.

First principles matter. My own first principle is to do no harm. In an enormously complicated world, this can be difficult. But more often, the answer has been right in front of you all along.

I will continue to try to make up for the willful ignorance I deployed when I enjoyed my father’s plane, through my philanthropy and activism, but that will never be enough. Carbon offsets and more efficient fuels are nice, but at best get us to break even. We need more. A lot more.

I hope other wealthy people will join me in ditching their planes. A tiny sliver of the population could decide right now to make a difference by making a series of relatively small sacrifices. (Have you checked out first class lately? It’s pretty posh!) If it means averting catastrophe and making the thriving of your children and grandchildren possible, isn’t that the least you can do?

And if you are really ready to dive in, come join me at the next protest.

This article was amended on 21 July 2023 to remove text stating that “50% of aviation carbon emissions are caused by private flights”, which was based on a misreading of a different statistic.