The Australian billionaire and outspoken climate advocate Mike Cannon-Brookes has defended buying a private jet and his company’s new sponsorship of the Williams Formula One racing team.
Cannon-Brookes admitted to “deep internal conflict” over the purchase of the jet, reportedly a Bombardier 7500, but claimed that technology to directly capture CO2 from the atmosphere, and the use of sustainable jet fuel, would cancel emissions from his flights.
Cannon-Brookes sought to explain the reasons why he bought the jet and Atlassian’s F1 sponsorship in an almost-500 word post to LinkedIn, hours after the Australian Financial Review had written about the billionaire’s new jet.
Estimated to be worth US$13bn by Forbes, Cannon-Brookes said he bought a private jet “so I can run a global business from Australia, and still be a constantly present dad” which was a “hard, continual tradeoff I’ve decided to make”.
On the sponsorship of the Williams F1 team, Cannon-Brookes said he appreciated “the double take” on the deal because “cars=fuel”.
Cannon-Brookes has gained a reputation for being outspoken on climate issues, but has faced strong criticism of the F1 sponsorship and the jet.
“It probably comes as no surprise, I have an extremely rigorous carbon regime for all my flying – including using direct air capture and sustainable fuels for the carbon and contrails, to far exceed my flight footprint,” he wrote.
“These options aren’t practical for commercial flights – but are viable privately. This means my flights actually have a net negative carbon footprint.”
In 2023 Atlassian, the software company he co-founded, issued a guide titled “Don’t F&*! The Planet” to help other companies cut their emissions.
In his LinkedIn post, Cannon-Brookes says he had conversations with Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, and was “impressed with their plans to get to net zero”.
According to F1’s latest report on sustainability, the sport was responsible for 223,031 tonnes of CO2 in 2023. While the fuel burned by the racing cars was less than 1% of the sport’s footprint, the vehicles would shift to 100% sustainable fuel derived from waste and sources of non-food biomass by 2026.
Cannon-Brookes said the Williams team’s moves to cut emissions “mirrors Atlassian’s own journey”.
“F1 can set a global example for sustainability in sports – and I believe it will,” he said. “I believe in a sustainable future. I believe in constant, practical forward motion. I well understand that takes hard, continual tradeoffs (which aren’t the same as denying or delaying).
“My commitment to climate is as strong as ever. I’m still pretty damn focused on making an impact at a large scale, removing huge volumes of emissions through active investments and philanthropy … and have the proud scars to prove it.”
Cannon-Brookes said he remained determined to help transform Australia into a “renewable energy superpower”.
“I am still a deep believer that decarbonisation is the single greatest economic opportunity for Australia.”
