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‘Megayachts’ are environmentally indefensible. The world must ban them. (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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“The rich gazed at their superyachts, and decided they were not enough. The new breed of megayachts, which are at least 70 metres (230ft) in length, may be the most expensive moveable assets ever created.”

“First and foremost, owning a megayacht is the most polluting activity a single person can possibly engage in. Abramovich’s yachts emit more than 22,000 tonnes of carbon every year, which is more than some small countries. Even flying long-haul every day of the year, or air-conditioning a sprawling palace, would not get close to those emissions levels.

The bulk of these emissions happen whether or not a yacht actually travels anywhere. Simply owning one – or indeed building one – is an act of enormous climate vandalism.”

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (4 children)

This is just a "feel bad" story rather than an actionable policy suggestion since, as the author acknowledges, regulating these yachts is going to be rather difficult because they can just sail somewhere else. Plenty of countries will welcome them in return for the economic activity associated with being a haven for the super-rich.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago (2 children)

let them sail somewhere else then

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago

without rich people

[–] [email protected] -4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

If the yachts already exist anyway and so the carbon footprint will be the same, it seems better for them to exist here where they put a lot of money into the local economy rather than somewhere else. I suppose that has to be weighted against the potential to discourage future yacht construction...

[–] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Let em put their money into the local economies of somalia when first world ports no longer welcome them.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

I've wondered about that. Ireland, Delaware, and Bermuda are all notorious tax havens, but are any of them actually any better off than they would be otherwise? I get the feeling that the benefits are going to a very select handful of people, and not, uh, trickling down.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Could regulate the manufacturing and maintenance/repairs.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Or deregulate the torpedo industry

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

They can't sail somewhere else if you sink them.