Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates may be a passionate advocate for a “greener” world, but his taste for luxury private jet travel has earned him the derisive nickname of a “climate hypocrite.”
The fact that the multibillionaire continues to fervently preach the urgency of lowering emissions to other countries, like he did recently in Australia, while hopping onto his Gulfstream jet, believed to burn around 1,700 liters of fuel per hour, has his critics up in arms. His "do as i say, not as i do" approach was slammed as typical of the mega-rich. Gates' recent remark that he "was not part of the problem" because he spends billions of dollars on climate innovation also failed to sway the opinion of his disparagers.
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter screenshot purportedly showing jet owned by Bill Gates at at Sydney airport.
© Photo : Twitter
Bill Gates recently faced his detractors, saying in February 2023 in an in-depth UK interview:
"Well, I buy the gold standard of funding Climeworks to do direct air capture that far exceeds my family's carbon footprint... And 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?"
As part of the interview, Gates visited a remote region in Kenya, where he reportedly supports local farms and hospitals through his charitable foundation.
He also said:
"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."
Bill Gates has been vocal in arguing for the need to "avoid a climate disaster," repeatedly saying that greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere need to be "zeroed out." Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), founded by the Gates in in 2015, is an organization supporting and funding new technologies tailored to fighting climate change. Specifically in Australia, Bill Gates has invested in Rumin8, an Australian climate technology start-up, hoping to bring change to the methane-emitting animal agriculture industry. A lab-grown feed additive is being developed by the start-up that is aimed at making cows create less gas, thereby lowering methane emissions.