Springwatch star Chris Packham calls on Swifties to convince Taylor Swift to reduce her private jet use and carbon footprint by protesting at her concerts

Chris Packham has accused Taylor Swift of not using her ‘enormous power’ to help the environment, and called on her fans to convince her to stop using private jets. The pop megastar, 34, has faced a lot of criticism over her use of private planes to fly around the world, including for stops on her Eras Tour or to visit boyfriend Travis Kelce, including a 12-hour flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas to watch the Super Bowl.

She has been slammed for the lavish travel habit due to her jet’s inevitable release of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, which are extremely harmful to the environment. Taylor’s team has insisted that she loans her jet out, so not all trips are down to her and that she has bought double the amount carbon offsets to compensate her flights.

However, carbon offsets have been criticised, as their effectiveness varies hugely and several people have pointed out they are the ‘bare minimum’ for anyone to offset flights, meaning a billionaire like Taylor could be expect to have a high standard. Springwatch star Chris, 63, has voiced a similar argument, suggesting that with all the increased attention on Taylor’s emissions, she could use the opportunity to be a vocal advocate for more sustainable travel.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: ‘I think Taylor Swift has enormous power. She’s speaking to an audience which will have significant problems in their lives due to climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. ‘And she ought to be at the forefront of trying to help their future to become more secure and sustainable. What a missed opportunity. You should actually say: “Do you know what, thank you for pointing that out. I’m going to switch to flying on commercial airliners”.’

Chris insisted that he was not saying she should not travel around for her tour, but that she could take steps to be more environmental. He proposed that Taylor’s own fans, nicknamed Swifties, could be the ones to persuade her, by showing banners at her concerts asking her to stop using private planes.

He said: ‘We all accept she has to travel the globe – we’re not saying stop touring. We’re saying do it in the most environmentally friendly way that you possibly can. ‘Wouldn’t it be great if all those 16-year-olds turned up at the concert with banners saying: “Drop your private jets”?’ Taylor’s use of private jets received increased scrutiny after college student Jack Sweeney spent months tracking the whereabouts of her plane during her Eras tour.