"Will not lead to doom" Bill Gates has changed his mind on climate change
Ahead of the start of the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil, Bill Gates warns against a one-sided view of global warming. However, his proposals have been sharply criticized by climate scientists.
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- Bill Gates is calling for a reorientation of climate policy with a stronger focus on combating poverty and disease, rather than solely on combating global warming.
- Scientists have sharply criticized his position and warned that it could undermine climate protection efforts and set the wrong priorities.
- With his memorandum ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil, Gates wants to encourage investment and innovation for developing countries.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates believes the time has come for a change of course in the fight for climate protection. "Although climate change will have serious consequences, it will not lead to the demise of humanity," wrote Bill Gates in a post published on his personal blog on Tuesday.
The billionaire called for the focus to be shifted away from curbing the rise in global warming towards the fight against poverty and disease. According to Gates, the global average temperature is "not the best measure of our progress in climate protection".
Gates also criticized climate activists for focusing too much on short-term targets to reduce CO₂ emissions and other greenhouse gases due to negative forecasts. As a result, resources have been diverted from more effective things that contribute to improving the quality of life on a warming planet.
In 2021, Gates published a book entitled "How to prevent climate catastrophe". In it, he advocates not only reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but limiting them to net zero by 2050.
Science criticizes Gates' opinion
Climate scientists believe that even a tiny increase in global warming contributes to extreme weather and increases the risk of species extinction. They therefore criticize Gates' statements.
The director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, Jeffrey Sachs, told the news agency DPA that Gates' document was "pointless, vague, unhelpful and confusing". Poverty could be reduced and the climate transformed if the oil lobby was curbed.
Michael Oppenheimer, a professor at Princeton University, told the New York Times that Gates' statements could easily be used by people who want to sabotage climate protection. Gates was conveying a false either-or message, often used by climate skeptics, that pits efforts to combat climate change against development aid for the poor.
"If you believe that climate is not important, you will not agree with the memorandum," Gates defended himself in an interview with reporters before the publication of his document. He had expected controversy.
Gates has already met with Trump several times
Gates' intention behind the memorandum was to ensure more investment and innovation for the benefit of poor countries. Gates wants to send a signal ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Brazil, which begins in November.
Although Gates had supported Democrat Kamala Harris during the US election campaign, he met with the US President several times after Trump's victory and spoke positively about him afterwards. However, Trump denies the existence and consequences of the climate crisis. Under his administration, the US cut its financial aid to developing countries that need to adapt to global warming.
The Gates Foundation was also affected by these cuts. The vaccine cooperation Gavi, which was set up with the help of his foundation, will have 25 percent less funding for the next five years compared to the past five years, Gates announced. The Gates Foundation is committed to health, education and development aid worldwide - particularly in the fight against diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
