According to a report by the Daily Mail, billionaire Bill Gates may be confused about what it means to be a climate activist and a hypocrite.
In an interview with the BBC, when Gates was asked by commentator Amol Raan 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, youre a hypocrite?
Gates responded by saying he was not part of the problem. The mega-billionaire worth a cool $117 billion explained he is not part of the pollution problem because of the tons of cash he pays to a company called Climeworks that charges a monthly fee to clear up carbon emissions.
Gates said, Well, I buy the gold standard of funding Climeworks to do direct air capture that far exceeds my familys carbon footprint. The Microsoft founder also said he was comfortable with his position as a private jet setter and gave a heads-up and kudos to his Breakthrough Energy company that researches sustainable energy.
With all the money doled out for climate research, Gates reasoning for jetting to places hither and yon was to see places his companies are studying up close. He said, 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 mean, Im 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 Im part of the solution.
While Gates is the latest celeb to have his name in the limelight, there are quite a few more who are coming under fire and grilled because they talk about climate change one minute and then hop on their private jet, polluting the skies the next minute.
The Daily Mail lists the current top 10 of Hollywoods biggest private jet hypocrites. The #1 spot is held by Taylor Swift, followed by Floyd Mayweather, Jay-Z, Alex Rodriguez, Blake Shelton, Steven Spielberg, Kim Kardashian, Mark Wahlberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Traves Scott in the #10 spot.
The outlet reports that single private jets emit as much carbon dioxide in one hour as it takes for an average person to emit in an entire year. And also, pollution is 14 times greater on a private flight versus a commercial airplane.
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