Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, has often been criticized for producing large amounts of greenhouse gases for traveling by private jet. In a recent interview with the media, Gates refuted this, saying it did not conflict with his philanthropic work on climate.

Gates said he offset his greenhouse gas emissions by paying for the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, "which far exceeds the carbon footprint of our family."

Gates goes on to argue that his own investment in clean energy and other environmental and public health projects justifies his travel to achieve these goals. Last year, Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a fund backed by Gates, announced that it would invest $15 billion in clean technology projects.

Gates asked: "I have spent billions of dollars on climate innovation. So, do you think I should stay at home instead of coming to Kenya to learn about the progress made in agriculture and malaria eradication?"

The use of private jets has recently been censored by many environmental activists, some of whom have called for countries to ban private jets. Transport is the world's third largest source of climate pollution, after energy production and land use (such as agriculture and deforestation), while private jets are by far the largest source of pollution per kilometre of movement of passengers.

A new study estimates that the carbon emissions of private jets to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, are equivalent to putting about 350000 fuel trucks on the road for a week. In Davos, business and government leaders discussed the importance of climate action.

In a blog post in 2020, Gheit called climate change a "crisis". "We still need to take action now to avoid climate disaster by building and deploying innovations that allow us to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions," he wrote at the time. "

Gates denied that his personal travel was becoming part of the problem he sought to solve. "I'm not part of the problem because I paid compensation and spent billions of dollars through Breakthrough Energy Group," he explained. "I'm part of the solution."

Direct air capture of carbon dioxide is still a relatively expensive and energy-intensive process with limited global capacity, but many climate change experts and activists say the cost of the process will be reduced (such as the use of solar energy). And extensive deployment is needed to prevent catastrophic climate change from becoming a reality. The world's largest direct air capture facility was built in Iceland in 2021, where clean electricity comes from geothermal energy and hydropower. Climeworks has invested in the Orca plant in Iceland and is building another larger plant, which is scheduled to start operating in 2024.

In September 2022, the International Energy Agency wrote: "carbon removal technologies such as direct air capture of carbon dioxide are not an alternative to emission reduction, nor are they an excuse to delay action. But they can be an important part of a range of technological options for achieving climate goals."

This is not the first time Gates has defended his travel by private jet. As early as 2021, he put forward a bold plan in his book how to avoid Climate disaster: the world could achieve zero emissions through cooperation between large companies, which are currently the major polluters on the planet. In addition, he suggested that more environmentally friendly technologies should be implemented to replace existing technologies.

"I am offsetting my carbon emissions by buying clean aviation fuel, funding carbon capture and funding low-cost housing projects that use electricity instead of natural gas, so I have been able to eliminate my carbon footprint," Gates said in February 2021. "for me, this can be very expensive and the cost of green is amazingly high. We have to reduce this cost."

A 2019 study by Lund University in Sweden concluded that Gates made 59 private jet flights in 2017, producing at least 1600 tons of carbon dioxide. The average person's air travel produces an average of 5 tons of carbon dioxide.

Gates is reported to have four private jets, including two Gulfstream G650ER jets, each worth at least $70 million. He also owns two Bombardier Challenger 350s, each worth about $27 million. In addition, Gates also has a private helicopter EC135 and a Cessna 207amphibious seaplane. As we all know, the billionaire also has a large collection of cars.

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