Billionaire Bill Gates was forced to defend his frequent use of carbon-emitting private jets while globetrotting – including visiting his favourite spots in Kenya.
In an interview aired by the BBC on Friday, February 3, the billionaire maintained that his use of private jets was meant for good.
Particularly in Kenya, he explained that the jet allows him to visit the country in person and learn about problems affecting farmers and diseases affecting locals.
“Well, I buy the gold standard of funding Climeworks (a technology that aids in capturing excess carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air), 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?” He questioned.
Concerns had earlier been raised by activists who accused him of hypocrisy for championing climate change while using jets to globetrot.
The Microsoft founder also firmly maintained that he was not part of the problem and used his own resources as well as those of his company to offset CO2 from the air.
“(I am) 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,” he added.
The tycoon was interviewed by BBC‘s Amol Rajan while in Kenya where he visited a smallholder farmer using new tools and practices to fight back against climate change.
“I planted drought-tolerant seeds, fed and weighed chickens, and used a mobile phone to monitor weather forecasts and local crop prices. These were a few of the chores I was given during my visit with Mary Mathuli, a smallholder farmer in rural Kenya.
“I stopped at her home in Makueni County, south-east of Nairobi, during my recent trip to Kenya to better understand how farmers like Mary are faring in the face of climate change,” he detailed on his personal blog, Gates Notes.
Bill Gates Jet
Gates jets around the world in a state-of-the-art Gulfstream G650 private jet valued at Ksh8.2 billion.
The plane, which is of model number N194WM, is one of two jets beloved by the billionaire and can fit a total of 18 passengers and has a maximum range of 7,500 nautical miles or 13, 890 kilometres.
The jet consists of two engines for efficiency. The engine’s manufacturing company, Rolls Royce, built the engine to hold 17,680 litres of jet fuel.
There are currently over 400 Gulfstreams G650s in the world. Apart from Gates, Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos owns the N194WM model.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE