Chris Bowen left behind as big climate goes for F1 and jets

Mike Cannon-Brookes isn’t the first corporate climate evangelist to end up with an oversized carbon footprint to match his public urgings for others to cut their own. But it takes a certain chutzpah to champion work from home but argue that a jumbo-sized private jet is necessary to balance work and home life for the boss. Becoming a major sponsor of the gas-guzzling Williams Formula One racing team fits right in.

It’s easy to criticise, but politicians have a lot to learn from the ability of business leaders to bite the bullet and move on, particularly when it comes to the difficult challenge of climate and energy. The evidence is clear. Corporate leaders are prepared to cut their financial and reputational losses long before our politicians are willing to face facts and change course.

Billionaires Andrew Forrest and Mr Cannon-Brookes are prime examples. Both have shown themselves willing to put profit and personal comfort ahead of what they have preached to others is an existential human crisis.

Fortescue founder and executive chairman Dr Forrest was quick to pull the plug on hydrogen when the numbers failed to stack up. Atlassian co-founder and chief executive Mr Cannon-Brookes has gone from woke agitator to high-octane owner of a new corporate jet and cornerstone sponsor of an F1 racing team in what seems like the blink of an eye.

No matter how hard he spins it, Mr Cannon-Brookes has put his personal and business needs ahead of the message for which he has made himself most recognised. After being outed on his new travel arrangements, Mr Cannon-Brookes said it was necessary for family and business reasons. In a lengthy post on LinkedIn, he wrote: “Personal security is the primary reason (an unfortunate reality of my world), but also so I can run a global business from Australia, and still be a constantly present dad. So, this is a hard, continual trade-off I’ve decided to make.”

The $80m Bombardier aircraft chosen by Mr Cannon-Brookes is considered one of the world’s largest and longest-range business jets. It can accommodate four living areas, a full kitchen and a dedicated zone for the crew.

Mr Cannon-Brookes says he remains committed to action on climate change through active investments, philanthropy, and technologies and methods that are yet to find commercial viability.

The sport team-owning Mr Cannon-Brookes has thus joined the ranks of the green business elite who clog the tarmac with private jets at Davos along with the original climate catastrophist, Al Gore, who was criticised for having a Tennessee home that “guzzles more electricity in one year than the average American family uses in 21 years”. Critics said the electricity used just to heat the former US vice-president’s swimming pool would power six homes for a year.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has a lot to learn from the approach being taken by Dr Forrest and Mr Cannon-Brookes. Dr Forrest was able to change tack on hydrogen despite the humiliation it entailed. Mr Cannon-Brookes is highlighting the need for pragmatic trade-offs in the pursuit of sustainability.

But this is a message that has largely escaped the Albanese government and Mr Bowen. The irony is that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has been on this page all along. He is still building coal-fired power stations as well as renewables to sell to the rest of the world, and has made it clear he is determined to keep going with existing technologies until the alternatives work in a way that can replace them.

That point clearly has not been reached but Mr Bowen seems determined to double down on his renewables-only approach with the subsidy regime now extended to energy users. With the federal budget back in deficit this means the bills of electricity users today will be paid for with borrowed funds and passed on to overburdened taxpayers of the future. Maybe Mr Bowen should take a ride on Mr Cannon-Brookes’s new jet to take things in from an elevated perspective.