Bill Gates justifies his use of private jets while being climate activist, insists he's 'not part of the problem'

During an interview with the BBC that aired last week, Bill Gates was asked to address the public's criticism that his use of private jet travel is hypocritical, given his stance on climate change.

The World Wildlife Fund claimed that air travel is "currently the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make."

Gates and other billionaires have been slammed for traveling in private jets while campaigning about climate change.

"You actually mentioned your use of a private jet. Let me put it to you directly, 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?" Amol Rajan, a journalist with the BBC, asked Gates.

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

Climeworks is a machinery industry company in Switzerland and Germany that developed direct air capture technology to remove carbon dioxide.

According to the International Energy Agency, direct air capture is "not an alternative to cutting emissions" because it "is more energy intensive and therefore expensive than capturing it from a point source."

In the interview, Gates added, "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?"

"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," Gates stated, referring to his energy company that is focused on developing technology to reach net-zero emissions.

The Microsoft co-founder redirected the climate change responsibility to "rich countries."

"What the rich countries owe to the entire world is that they need to get their emissions down to zero as fast as they can," Gates said. "But that's not enough because they, you know, they have so … much in the way of resources."

The Daily Wire reported that Stefan Gössling, a Linnaeus University economics professor, released a study revealing that in 2017, Gates traveled more than 213,000 miles on 59 private jet flights. In total, the trips generated carbon emissions 109 times greater than per capita emissions created in the U.S.

According to Skyluxe Aviation, Gates owned four private jets in 2021, totaling around $194 million.

Gates previously admitted in his book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," published in 2021, that he is "an imperfect climate change messenger" for choosing to travel by private jet.

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