After nearly two decades of tracking the American private jet industry here at the Institute for Policy Studies, we are formally launching the Private Jet Accountability Project with a Tax Private Jets campaign during the final games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
IPS has been tracking the emissions impact of mega-events, such as the Super Bowl and Davos for many years. But this year’s World Cup might be the biggest of these events yet, starkly illustrated by FIFA Chief Gianni Infantino burning up the atmosphere with multiple jet flights a day, when he isn’t busy nakedly overturning onfield decisions for his favorite president. (Perhaps he even made that call at 50,000 feet.)
We are excited to announce a new tool from the IPS Private Jet Accountability Project, what we are calling the “Private Jet Emissions Tracker” (PJET). The first tranche of data will be released under the banner, “Red Card for Private Jets at FIFA World Cup.” We will be releasing data for the semi-final matches and final match in New Jersey this week.
The “Tracker” will be an open-source sousveillance (surveillance from below) software that lets anyone measure jumps in private jet-travel associated with any event, like a Masters Golf tournament, Kentucky Derby horse-racing, Davos, or the Super Bowl.
We are tracking the number of planes and estimated emissions from increased activity at each major event. We have been comparing previous weeks, months and years to see how much activity is driven by the World Cup. We are working with artist and programmer Kyle McDonald who created the “Apocalypse Early Warning System.”
