New Approach

Bill Gates urged people to stop warning that climate change would destroy humanity, a departure from his past advocacy.

Context

The Microsoft co-founder has spent billions of dollars fighting climate change over the past decade. He founded Breakthrough Energy in 2015 to invest in clean energy startups and published a book in 2021 titled "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster." Gates has consistently warned about the serious threats posed by rising temperatures and funded efforts to help vulnerable communities adapt to climate impacts.

New Perspective 

In the memo released on Tuesday, Gates argued that excessive focus on near-term emissions reduction goals has diverted resources from more effective solutions.

He wrote, “The doomsday outlook is causing much of the climate community to focus too much on near-term emissions goals.” He said that outlook was “diverting resources from the most effective things we should be doing to improve life in a warming world.” Gates called for putting human welfare at the center of climate strategies, particularly by improving health and agriculture in developing nations.

Gates’ Reasoning

Gates said budget cuts to foreign aid programs mean there is less money available to help poor countries. He argued that limited funds should go to the most effective programs, like vaccines that can save lives cheaply.

Gates also said he became more optimistic because clean energy technology has improved faster than expected.

Mixed Reactions

Several climate scientists criticized Gates' framing of the issue. Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs called the memo “pointless, vague, unhelpful and confusing,” arguing there is no reason to pit poverty reduction against climate transformation.

However, Stanford climate scientist Chris Field said there is room for healthy discussion about whether current framing of the climate crisis is too pessimistic, though he added that the world should invest for both the long term and short term.