In a speech delivered to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo suggested that "our recent climate track record" provides "reason for grounded optimism" regarding humanity's ability to address global warming.
If the personal track records of Belgium's politicians are anything to go by, however, it would seem that there is room for little else except extreme pessimism.
According to a recent joint investigation by La Dernière Heure (DH), L'Avenir, and La Libre, since assuming office the country's leaders have travelled a total of 2.67 million kilometres – equivalent to 67 full circumnavigations of the globe – on 561 separate plane trips. In the process, they have emitted 1,512 tonnes of carbon dioxide: an amount which corresponds to the average annual carbon footprint of 150 of their fellow citizens.
The investigation also revealed Belgian leaders' predilection not just for travelling, but for travelling in style. In particular, federal politicians often flew on one of two of the government's Dassault Falcon 7X luxury private planes, which seat just 14 people apiece and are heavily polluting.
The interior of a Dassault Falcon 7X plane. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
DH estimates that a round trip from Brussels to Lisbon on a 7X costs €35,000 and emits 15,860 kg of CO2. By contrast, a business class seat for the same journey is worth roughly €650 and accounts for just 348 kg in CO2 emissions (or 2% as much as a trip on the 7X).
Both 7X planes were leased by the Federal Government in 2019 for a 12-year period, and are estimated to cost the taxpayer a minimum of €10.4 million per year.
Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib is especially fond of travelling on the 7X, as are Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder and De Croo himself. Former Belgian Prime Minister and current European Council President Charles Michel also reportedly uses the aircraft on a regular basis.
Since taking office in October 2020, members of De Croo's "Vivaldi" federal coalition have flown a total of 1.5 million km (or 38 full circumnavigations of the globe) on 326 separate missions.
At the regional level, the Brussels Government flew more than any other public body, with 72 total round trips. This, however, was largely a consequence of the globetrotting antics of one man, namely the former Mobility Minister Pascal Smet, creator of the capital's controversial Good Move mobility plan.
Pascal Smet. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
While in office, Smet took 33 trips, flying more than 250,000 km at a total cost of roughly €100,000. Among the list of destinations he visited were Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Bogota, Dakar, Dubai, Jerusalem, Kinshasa, New York, Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington DC.
Smet resigned from his position in June following public uproar over his decision to host of an Iranian delegation and pro-war Russian officials at taxpayers' expense at this year's Brussels Urban Summit.
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Contacted by DH, a spokesperson for Smet said that "all the missions were carried out within the framework of the professional functions and skills" of the former Minister.
A spokesperson for his successor, Ans Persoons, added that she had made a conscious decision to fly less frequently than Smet, citing as evidence her recent decision to turn down trips to Australia and Canada.
"No hasty populism: a Minister must obviously travel, in conditions worthy of his or her status," wrote DH columnist Alexis Carantonis. "[But] we can still wonder: while a guilt-inducing pressure hangs over Belgians who fly... shouldn't an example be set by those above?"
