In an interview to appear tonight on Fox Business Network’s (FBN) CAVUTO at 8:00 PM/ET, anchor Neil Cavuto spoke with Sir Richard Branson about climate change, clean energy, and space travel. Branson said climate change “could be” the top issue facing the world and “as an insurance policy I think it makes sense to move the world to cleaner energy fuels.” He further discussed the cost incentives of switching to solar and wind power on his private island, saying “last year our bill was $750,000, this year it will be $325,000.” On space travel Branson said, “our rockets are now working the full length of the time,” and, “we feel confident that by Christmas we will have done the first test flight into space.” Branson said his flights into space will be, “massively cheaper, like 2 percent the price of the Russians.”
Excerpts from the Richard Branson interview are below
On Climate change being the biggest problem in the world:
“I think it could be, I think our grandchildren and children could suffer, I don’t necessarily think people in our generation are likely to suffer enormously. But as an insurance policy I think it makes sense to move the world to cleaner energy fuels because in any event we are going to run out of oil one day and cleaner fuels can bring real competition to the dirty fuels and actually bring everyone’s fuel bills down.”
On turning his island over to clean energy:
“We just turned our island into a clean island, powered by the wind and powered by the sun. Last year our bill was $750,000, this year it will be $325,000. So you can, if you’re clever, I believe reduce your fuel bills, bring some competition into the dirty fuel industry which will force them to bring their fuel prices down and I think benefit a whole country like America.”
On the progress of space travel:
“The best bit of news which I can sort of tell you and audience today is that our rockets are now working the full length of the time very consistently and we feel confident that by Christmas we will have done the first test flight into space. We will be charging like $250,000, massively cheaper, like 2 percent the price of the Russians.”
