Superyachts are the ultimate status symbol for royalty, oligarchs and billionaires from Jeff Bezos to Bernard Arnault. Floating palaces are a source of fascination and mystery, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
The planetary pollution caused by luxury vessels that benefit very few has prompted lifestyle sociologist Gregory Sall to call them a form of “ecocide” and “expressive seclusion” in his new book Superyachts: Luxury, Tranquility and Ecocide.
According to a report by SuperYacht Times earlier this year, there are almost 6,000 superyachts at sea, that is, vessels over 30 meters (100 feet) in length. Over the past three decades, their total number has quadrupled.
“It’s hard to think of a more compelling sign of wealth than owning a superyacht,” said Salle, a professor at France’s Lille University.
The concentration of wealth hasn’t just led to the superyacht explosion. It has also led to a breakdown of emissions per capita, with the wealthiest people living the most carbon-emitting lifestyles.
The richest 10% of people in the world already account for half of the world’s carbon emissions, according to Oxfam research. The nonprofit found that it would take 1,500 years for someone in the bottom 99% to emit as much carbon dioxide as one of the world’s top billionaires. The super-rich’s emissions come from a variety of sources, including large homes and frequent airplane travel. But according to a 2021 study, superyachts are their biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Sall’s book, the annual CO2 emissions of the top 300 superyachts amount to almost 285,000 tons, more than the entire country of Tonga.
Superyachts are more than just climate polluters. Sewage, noise and light pollution, particulate matter in exhaust fumes, and even ship docking areas can have an adverse impact on the local environment. These enormous impacts are why Salle called the ships a form of ecocide.
The term, coined in the 1970s, refers to the deliberate destruction of nature and is often used to describe the actions of wealthy people given their huge carbon footprints. In 2021, lawyers proposed codifying ecocide into international criminal law, equating it to genocide. Earlier this year, European Union lawmakers voted to criminalize environmental damage “comparable to ecocide.” Whether the new law will be used to prosecute the use of superyachts remains to be seen.
Some owners are aware of the dangers their boats pose to the environment. Jeff Bezos’ $500 million superyacht Koru set sail in April 2023 with sails powering its propulsion. However, it is still equipped with diesel engines. Oxfam estimates the 127-meter (416-foot) ship emitted 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide last year, equivalent to the annual emissions of 445 average Americans.
This estimate is also almost certainly an underestimate, since the calculations take into account that the yacht is in standby mode and not underway. This number also does not include Koru’s companion yacht, Abeona, a 75-metre escort motor yacht that functions as a garage with a helipad and jet skis.
The sails on Bezos’s ship are an exception: the vast majority of superyachts are purely engine-powered. Only eight new sailing yachts were built in 2023, compared to 195 new motor yachts.
According to Malcolm Jacotin, founder of superyacht consulting firm Three Sixty Marine, understanding the true carbon emissions of a superyacht is incredibly difficult due to the lack of collected data and the secretive nature of yachting. Using data from the International Maritime Organization, Jacotin estimates that emissions from yachting will reach 10 million tonnes by 2030 if the industry adopts a “business as usual” approach.
To help owners understand the impact of their boats, he has developed two carbon emissions calculators. However, they have limitations because they rely on voluntarily reported data and estimates of tons of diesel fuel.
Yachts spend between 10% and 20% of the year sailing and rely on engine power. According to Robert van Tol, executive director of the Water Revolution Foundation, boats reach their top speed at only 0.1% per year. During the rest of the year, the ship is a floating hotel, powered by generators that are required for longer periods of time and emit more CO2, according to Jacotin’s calculations.
However, according to Oxfam researchers, emissions data is collected separately for each boat, and one yacht may travel more than another in a year, increasing emissions during the trip. Yachts are exempt from International Maritime Organization emissions rules, so the true emissions of any boat are difficult to discern. This reflects how luxurious and somewhat unknowable superyachts are.
“Superyachts are designed to be noticed,” Salle said. “But [they] These are also vehicles that are truly secret in the sense that you can’t get inside unless you’re invited.”
New designs focus less on engines reaching maximum speed and more on saving energy in hotel mode. But sustainability may not be at the forefront of your purchasing decision.
“It’s not a rational decision to buy a yacht,” said Ralph Dusert, head of research at media and market research firm SuperYacht Times. “It’s quite an emotional thing because it costs you a huge fortune.”
In 2023, the total value of yachts sold was 4.6 billion euros ($4.9 billion), according to Dazert. He said the move towards sustainability will be driven in large part by shipyards and engineers adding features to new designs, including using recycled materials. New fuels can also reduce emissions.
This year, Italian shipbuilder Sanlorenzo will test the first 50-meter steel yacht powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and another 114-meter yacht from German shipbuilder Lürssen with the same technology is in production in 2025 for former watch developer Apple Inc. Brand. Newson.
But the larger the assembly, the longer the waiting time. This means that some of these features will take years to appear on the high seas, according to Jacotin.
In an effort to clean up the image of superyachts, some owners make their yachts available for research and exploration. These include a new 195-metre yacht owned by Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Rokke, which will launch in 2026 and will employ more than 50 scientists to study the ocean. (It is also available for private cruises.)
While public attention is growing, superyachting is a customer-focused industry. And for most buyers, luxury still trumps climate concerns. Salle noted that, like many high-end things, superyachts are not just products. They are representatives of a “lifestyle” that is now closely linked to carbon-intensive activities.
“Ecocide is something that causes deep harm, harm that lasts over time,” Salle said. “You can apply this to what [superyachts] they do not only individually… but also globally.”