I Am ‘Not Part of the Problem’: Billionaire Bill Gates Defends Using Private Jet as Climate Activist

Bill Gates staunchly defended his work as a climate activist during a recent interview when pressured about his use of private jets.

The interview which was conducted by BBC’s Amol Rajan was a rare in-depth sit down interview with Gates where Rajan wasted no time in cutting straight to the hard hitting questions.

“What do you say to the charge that if you are a climate change campaigner, but you also travel around the world in a private jet, you’re a hypocrite?” Rajan asked.

“Well, I buy the gold standard of funding Climeworks to do direct air capture that far exceeds my family’s carbon footprint,” Gates said.

Climeworks, the company referenced by Gates, is an emissions reduction company that aims to remove harmful CO2 from the air using direct air capture technology to help neutralize the gas. For a monthly fee, Gates and others like him pay to remove “their” carbon contribution from the air.

Even as recently as 2022, the promises from some similar companies faced intense scrutiny, with some studies showing they overstated their emission reductions significantly.

Gates continued, “I spend billions of dollars on climate innovation. So, you know, should I stay at home and not come to Kenya and learn about farming and malaria — Anyway. I mean, 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’m part of the solution.”

Breakthrough Energy is just part of Gates’ many companies that since 2015 have worked to develop innovation in sustainable energy and reduce harmful emissions.

Watch above via BBC World News.

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