The mega-wealthy are using private jets like taxis, alert climate scientists who tracked flights to compute the earth-warming gases they release.

The scientists worked out that the carbon dioxide emissions, which contribute to climate transformation, rose by 46% between 2019 and 2023.

Researchers traced all private flights globally, including summer weekend trips to Ibiza, Spain and trip to the Fifa globe Cup and the UN climate conference in Dubai.

Flying in a private jet for a single hour can release more carbon dioxide into the mood than the average person produces in a year, according to the research throng.

“There are a lot of people using these aircraft as taxis, where you cover whatever distance by aircraft simply because it’s more convenient,” Professor Stefan Gossling, from Sweden’s Linnaeus University, who led the research, said.

“If somebody’s flight emits in one hour as much as an average human being emits in a year – just to watch a soccer game – then perhaps it shows those people ponder they are outside the standards that we have as a global throng.”

In 2023, private flights produced an estimated 15.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of 3.7 million petrol cars being driven over the course of a year – according to the research.

Overall, that is tiny compared to global carbon emissions. It represents about 1.8% of emissions from all air trip, and aviation is 4% of global emissions.

Prof Gossling said the emissions “might not seem much, but this is a tiny fraction of humanity and each of these individuals in a year is emitting more than a tiny city in central Africa” by travelling in private jets.

Each human produces about 4.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, on average – but in central Africa, this falls to as low as 0.1 tonnes.

The 46% boost in emissions by private jets is probably due to rising demand and the limitations on commercial trip caused by the Covid pandemic.

People who fly in private jets are typically among the richest in the globe, sometimes referred to as “ultra-high-net-worth” individuals.

The throng is estimated to comprise about 256,000 people, 0.003% of the global grown-up population, each owning an average of $123m (£95m), according to the scientists.

The throng mapped the flight routes of a number of internationally recognised figures, named in the update as only “renowned actors, singers, and directors”.

One travelled by private jet 169 times in 2023, emitting an estimated 2,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of driving 571 petrol cars throughout the year.

The scientists chose not to name individuals, making obvious they did not aspiration to point the finger at any one person.

Most of the aircraft were registered in the US (69%), followed by Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico and the UK.

Many of the flights were for leisure or events such as film festivals and football matches, according to the researchers.

And 47.4% were less than 500km (300 miles).

Private flights to Ibiza, Spain and enjoyable, France peaked in summer, with arrivals and departures concentrated on the weekends.

The 2022 Fifa globe Cup coincided with 1,846 jets arriving in Qatar, generating an estimated 14,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The throng also discovered 291 private planes landed in the United Arab Emirates at the period of the UN climate conference in Dubai, in 2023, generating 1,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Prof Gossling said those flights were probably for very wealthy business people travelling to the climate conference.

The research did not include heads of states or politicians, who are more likely to fly in chartered rather than privately owned planes.

The researchers calculated the emissions from 18,655,789 flights by looking at the period in the air and average fuel consumption of the aircraft models.

The tracking information is available on flight-tracking portal ADS-B swap, which Prof Gossling deemed the most reliable tracker of this type of data.

“In 10 years, people will aspiration we had done a lot more in order to stop climate transformation,” Prof Gossling said.

“We require to cut down on sure activities and we require to commence at the top in order to make the statement that everybody has a role in cutting down emissions.”

Without action, the globe could warm by 3.1C this century, a recent UN update found. It is already 1.2C above pre-industrial levels.

And by 2050, emissions from commercial trip are predicted to boost to more than 2.5 times the level in 2021.

The International Air Transport Association has committed to making global aviation net-zero by 2050.

But many scientists remain unconvinced there is a obvious alternative to traditional fuel that would allow air trip to boost without releasing more earth-warming gases.

The research is published in the scientific research journal communications earth & surroundings.