Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Thursday, Oct 03, 2024

Bill Gates defends use of private jet amid fight against climate change

Bill Gates defends use of private jet amid fight against climate change

The Microsoft co-founder contested that he is 'part of the solution' to addressing climate change

Billionare philanthropist Bill Gates argued that it's not hypocritical for him to travel by private jet while simultaneously trying to fight climate change.

"What do you say to the charge that if you are a climate change campaigner, but you also travel around the world on a private jet, you're a hypocrite," BBC's Amol Rajan asked Gates during an interview in Kenya last week.

The co-founder of Microsoft – a fierce advocate for fighting climate change — said he isn't the problem. Rather, he contends he is the solution given all his efforts to address this issue, in part, though investing billions in climate technologies.

Bill Gates attends the World Leaders' Summit "Accelerating Clean Technology Innovation and Deployment" session on day three of COP26 on November 02, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.

"Well I, by the gold standard of, funding Climeworks, to do direct air capture that far exceeds my family's carbon footprint," Gates replied.

Climeworks is a Swiss company that uses direct air capture (DAC) technology to fight climate change. The company said on its website that it "captures CO₂ directly from the air, reducing the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ by only using renewable energy, energy-from-waste, or other waste heat as energy sources."

Last year, it became Microsoft's first long-term carbon removal supplier.

The billionaire continued saying he spends "billions of dollars on climate innovation."

"I'm comfortable with the idea that not only am I not part of the problem by paying for the offsets, but also through the billions that my Breakthrough Energy group is spending, that I am part of the solution," he said.

Breakthrough Energy was founded by Gates in 2015. According to its website, Breakthough Energy funds "work on the actual climate technologies our world will need to meaningfully reduce emissions" and brings public and private sectors together "to accelerate market formation, spur further innovation, and reduce Green Premiums."

It also advocated for "public policies that will give new technologies a chance in the marketplace, incentivize investment in carbon-reduction technologies, and drive down clean technology costs," the website continues.

According to Reuters, Gates has already invested over $2 billion toward climate technologies. This includes investments in direct air capture in addition to solar energy and nuclear fission.

However, according to the World Wildlife Fund, air travel is still currently considered "the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make."

"Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change," the World Wildlife Fund's website reads. "In fact, if the entire aviation sector were a country, it would be one of the top 10 carbon-polluting nations on the planet."

Private jets are 5 to 14 times more polluting per passenger than commercial planes, according to a report from the European Federation for Transport and Environment.

One private jet can emit two tonnes of CO₂ within an hour, according to the report.
Comments

Oh ya 2 year ago
This nutjob can not meet his maker soon enough. CO2 feeds plants and in return the plants make oxygen to feed humans and all animals. He is helping you like he helped you with the biological agent that they call a vaccine, how is that working out for the folks as they die suddenly and have cancer rates explode. The life insurance companies are seeing a 40 % rise in deaths. They track death every closely as its their business

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×