PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle have been branded “completely hypocritical” after reportedly taking 21 private jets in two years while preaching about climate change.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared at a gig at the weekend calling for action on climate change — and then climbed aboard a Dassault Falcon 2000 jet and flew back to their £11million mansion in Montecito, California.
The star-studded Global Citizen Live concert in New York — dubbed “Wokestock” — demanded tough new eco laws to halve US emissions by 2030.
Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, appeared on stage and pressed the “wealthiest nations” to deliver on a £70billion-a-year pledge to help developing countries go green.
But after the event, the couple flew home by private jet, with pictures showing them hugging their team after stepping off the aircraft.
Former government minister Norman Baker, 64, told Newsweek: “It’s completely hypocritical for Prince Harry or other members of the royal family to lecture people about climate change when they’re emitting more carbon than almost everyone else on the planet.
“People using private jets are in the top one percent of carbon emitters in the world.
“Prince Harry needs to stop using private jets or if he wants to use private jets he needs to stop lecturing people on climate change.
“It is not particularly challenging to get a flight from New York to California – people do it all the time.”
The couple have faced repeated criticism for insisting on using private flights, despite preaching about the environment.
Baker said Harry and Meghan took 18 private jet trips in the 12 months from January 2019 to January 2020.
The pair have reportedly taken at least 21 private jets in the last two years, including one trip from Canada to LA when they first moved to America in March 2020.
A flight on a private jet from New York to California is estimated to produce 17 tons of carbon emissions.
And the average carbon footprint per person in the UK per year is 12.7 tons, eco firm Pawprint says.
Royal author Penny Junor, 71, told The Sun: “I do think this is hypocrisy. I’m sure there were plenty of scheduled flights.”
She added: “I do not understand why they are behaving as if they are superstars.
“His father has been known to take scheduled flights. His brother takes scheduled flights.
“This totally muddies the waters of their climate message. They are shooting themselves in the foot by taking private flights.”
The Sun revealed in 2019 that the pair had taken six of ten round trips on private jets since getting married the previous year.
It included a flight to Italy for a Google climate change summit, as well as trips to Ibiza and Nice.
Harry also took a private plane home to California after a polo tournament for his Sentebale charity in Aspen, Colorado, in August.
The prince has previously defended his use of private jets and insisted that he spends 99 per cent of his life travelling via commercial flights.
In 2019, he said: “Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family are safe, and it’s genuinely as simple as that.”
He explained that he tries to “balance out” the “impact” of private flights by off-setting his CO2 emissions.
A spokesperson for the couple have been contacted by The Sun Online.
