Bill Gates Urges Strategic Pivot in Climate Fight

Bill Gates has released a memo arguing that the world should shift its focus from limiting rising temperatures to fighting poverty and preventing disease in the face of climate change. Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, believes that a doomsday outlook has led the climate community to focus too much on near-term goals to reduce emissions, diverting resources from more effective ways to improve life in a warming world.

Key Takeaways:

• Gates proposes a "strategic pivot" in the global climate fight, focusing on preventing suffering, particularly in the world's poorest countries.
• He argues that the current emphasis on limiting rising temperatures has led to a lack of investment in areas that can make the most difference in people's lives.
• Gates believes that scientific innovation will curb climate change, but it's time for a shift in strategy.
• He estimates that if given a choice between eradicating malaria and a tenth of a degree increase in warming, he would let the temperature rise by 0.1 degree to get rid of malaria.
• The Gates Foundation has poured tens of billions of dollars into health care, education, and development initiatives worldwide.
• Breakthrough Energy, founded by Gates in 2015, seeks to accelerate innovation in clean energy.
• Gates is urging world leaders to reconsider the allocation of funds for climate change, asking whether the money is being spent on the right things.

Statistics:

• Carbon dioxide pollution is increasing, and humans are on track to release so much greenhouse gas by early 2028 that scientists say crossing the 1.5-degree threshold is now nearly unavoidable.
• The cost of doing something cleanly is much higher than the polluting way in areas like making clean steel and cement.
• Breakthrough Energy focuses on areas where the cost of doing something cleanly is much higher than the polluting way.
• Gavi, a public-private partnership started by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will have 25% less money for the next five years compared to the past five years.
• Vaccines can save a life for a little more than $1,000, according to Gates.

Sources:

• Associated Press (AP) coverage of climate and environmental issues
• Bill Gates' memo
• University of Washington public health and climate scientist Kristie Ebi
• Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University
• Stanford University climate scientist Chris Field
• Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer