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Mega-Rich Environmentalists Respond To Questions About Their Use Of Private Jets

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Chris White Tech Reporter
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Billionaire Bill Gates and former Vice President Al Gore responded to criticism that their use of jets somehow conflicts with their desire to fight global warming, Axios reported Monday.

Gates suggested to Axios’s Amy Harder that his heavy investments in green energy are effectively enough to outweigh his private jet usage. The Microsoft founder owns a private jet and is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

“I am investing in climate change very broadly and substantial amounts of money,” Gates, who heads a coalition of billionaires who are investing in clean energy tech, said in an interview with Axios over the summer.

He added: “I don’t think there is anyone doing more, but if there is, congratulations to whoever that is.” (RELATED: Exclusive: TheDCNF Asked Paris Climate Accord Backers If They’d Support Banning Private Jets. Most Didn’t Respond)

Microsoft principle founder Bill Gates participates in a discussion during a luncheon of the Economic Club of Washington June 24, 2019 in Washington, DC. Gates discussed various topics including climate change. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Gore, a politician-turned well-healed activist and vegan, made a similar point when confronted. “He recognizes how important these everyday choices are, while spending most of his time working to catalyze a global effort to change laws and policies,” a Gore representative told Harder.

The former vice president told CNN in 2017 he didn’t own a private jet, but in 2013 admitted to “sometimes” chartering a private jet. Gore has also been criticized for his enormous home energy usage, which is estimated to be 34 times the average American household.

Representatives for Gore did not respond to a request for comment when the Daily Caller News Foundation asked him in 2018 if he would be willing to ban the of use of private jets to help address climate change. The Gates Foundation also did not respond when the DCNF reached out.

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