For years, outrage over the high-carbon consumption of the rich and famous in the face of climate change has stirred passionate outrage. This summer the outrage has hit a fever pitch. Here's why that matters 📝 JustinWorland
or years, outrage over the high-carbon consumption of the rich and famous in the face of climate change has stirred passionate outrage and accusations of hypocrisy, from Leonardo DiCaprio’s private jet rides to Bill Gates’s yacht.
But that doesn’t mean their behavior doesn’t matter. A quick review of the surprisingly robust academic research on celebrities and climate change suggests that there’s another, arguably more important, reason why the public should be outraged: celebrities shape what everyone else does. That’s true for what products we buy, obviously, but it’s also true for how seriously the public and even policymakers take climate change.
The 2017 research suggests that celebrities offered a key asset that scientists couldn’t: telling followers how to feel. When DiCaprio travels the world visiting different sites relevant to climate change in the documentary, his reactions—angry, sad, passionate, etc.—tell the audience what emotions they should experience. And that matters because committed followers tend to listen.
The private jet hubbub is easiest to understand. In late July, we learned some truly wild statistics about celebrity private jet habits. Taylor Swift’s private jet had taken off some 170 times between January and late July, according to anfrom sustainability marketing firm Yard. Floyd Mayweather’s jet flew 177 trips in the same time period, including a 10-minute flight between two airports in the Las Vegas area.
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