US: Nancy Pelosi spent nearly $500k on Private Jets despite promoting Pollution control

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the United States (US) House of Representatives, has spent nearly $500,000 on private aircraft since October 2020, despite her statements that the United States has a moral obligation to combat climate change. According to Federal Election Commission papers originally published by Fox News, the California Democrat's campaign paid Virginia-based Advanced Aviation Team a total of $423,707.62 for travel services on 10 occasions between October 2020 and December 2021.

Pelosi's team also paid California-based Clay Lacy Aviation an amount of $65,457.23 in January last year, bringing the campaign's total private jet spending to $489,164.85. Pelosi paid Advanced Aviation an amount of $67,604.93 in August last year. Three months later, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a delegation of Democratic lawmakers to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, where she called the fight against climate change a "religious thing."

She added at the time, "I believe this is God’s creation, and we have a moral obligation to be good stewards."

Private Jets emit more CO2 per passenger than commercial airlines

According to a report published by the European group Transport & Environment in June 2021, private jets emit more carbon dioxide per passenger than commercial airlines. In the report, T&E aviation director Andrew Murphy stated that flying aboard a private jet is perhaps the worst thing you can do for the environment. Yet super-rich super-polluters are flying around as if there isn't a climate issue, he added. It is worth noting that, the Cessna Citation XLS, a popular private jet model, consumes 189 gallons of fuel per hour on average.

Last September, Pelosi came under fire for saying that cooperation with China on climate change should take priority over Beijing's human rights violations and hostile military postures toward Hong Kong and Taiwan. Climate change is the most pressing issue, she stated at the time adding that China is the world's largest emitter.

Former Senator John Kerry has also been chastised for using a private plane while serving as President Joe Biden's climate czar. Moreover, since April 2020, when Pelosi showed off her $24,000-worth fridge stocked with high-end ice cream costing $12 a pint during an interview on The Late Show with James Corden, the House Speaker has been chastised for being out of touch with the majority of Americans.

(With inputs from Agencies)

Image: AP/Unsplash