Yesterday, the Cannes Film Festival welcomed tens of thousands of people from all over the world. But before they can walk up the steps and step onto the red carpet, many will fly – or even take a private jet – leaving a significant carbon footprint in their wake.
According to an academic study published in 2024, Cannes is one of the world events with the highest emissions of greenhouse gases, with 640 private jet landings or take-offs attributed to the 2023 edition. Last year, the event generated 620 private jets. This figure is equivalent to a combustion-engine car travelling around the Earth approximately 700 times [1].
The Festival has, however, committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 21% by 2030 compared to 2019. This is a relatively unambitious target, given the European Union’s commitment to reduce emissions by 55%. However, over the last two years, the number of private jets has hardly decreased at all.
The issue of travel remains largely overlooked by the organisers. Yet it is a key concern: according to the Festival’s official website, travel by accredited visitors to Cannes accounted for 93% of the event’s carbon footprint in 2025 [2]. Despite this, their 2024 environmental charter contains no concrete measures to address the means of transport used by actors, directors and other guests to travel to the famous La Croisette promenade. The organisers have communicated extensively on the frequency of changing the red carpet, or on the fleet of electric cars, but all these measures carry little weight compared to the enormous impact of air travel to Cannes.
This lack of action is not without consequences. The Cannes Film Festival’s carbon footprint stood at 49,900 tonnes of CO₂e in 2025, a 2% increase compared to 2019. This trend, fuelled by the rise in emissions linked to festival-goers’ journeys to Cannes (+6%), is in complete contradiction with the commitments made by the Festival.
The Cannes Film Festival’s carbon footprint is no mere sideshow. It raises the thorny issue of how efforts to combat climate change are shared. Is the Cannes Film Festival above the European and French targets that apply to other sectors?
It is therefore high time for the organisers to take action. We are calling on the Festival to adopt a much more ambitious travel policy. Participants arriving from another continent should be encouraged to take a commercial flight rather than a private jet. The latter emits at least four times more CO₂ per passenger than a conventional plane.
For all those coming from Europe, the travel policy should encourage the use of trains or electric cars instead of planes. The Cannes Film Festival could, for example, take inspiration from the Ecoprod label [3], supported notably by the TF1 and France Télévisions media groups, which certifies eco-responsible film productions based on specific criteria, such as taking the train rather than a plane for journeys of less than five hours.
As climate change worsens, the Cannes Film Festival can no longer turn a blind eye to its impact and settle for cosmetic measures. It must recognise its power to influence and use it to challenge the most carbon-intensive travel practices.
Editor’s note
[1] This figure excludes Cannes Airport, in line with the academic study. Adding Cannes Airport would rise the figure to 764 private jets, which is equivalent to a combustion-engine car travelling around the Earth approximately 779 times.
[2] All figures relating to the Festival’s commitments and carbon footprint are taken from the official Cannes Film Festival website: https://www.festival-cannes.com/qui-sommes-nous/le-festival-s-engage/pour-l-environnement/#:~:text=Depuis%202021%2C%20le%20Festival%20s,jusqu’au%20transport%20des%20festivaliers
[3] Link to the Ecoprod Label guidelines:
https://ecoprod.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ReferentielLabelEcoprod17Novembre2025.pdf
Signatories
Denise Auclair, Head of the Travel Smart campaign at T&E
Airy Chrétien, co-founder of Collectif Citoyen 06