Bill Gates says climate change is not the end of the world.
The billionaire philanthropist wrote in a memo Monday about the effects of climate change on humanity. It’s a real problem that should be addressed, Gates said, but the discussion shouldn’t be focused on concerns that a “cataclysmic climate change will decimate civilization.”
“Although climate change will have serious consequences — particularly for people in the poorest countries — it will not lead to humanity’s demise,” Gates wrote.
The “doomsday outlook,” as he called it, is causing people to pay too much attention to the emission goals of the near future. In his opinion, Gates said that people will still be able to thrive for the foreseeable future, and emissions will reduce as policies and innovations grow.
Gates has studied climate change for over a decade and has long been outspoken about it, publishing the book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” in 2021. The billionaire philanthropist founded Breakthrough Energy in 2015, an investment vehicle that has invested in almost 100 clean-energy companies. He’s previously touted innovation as the key to solving the climate crisis.
In his Monday note, Gates proposed that scientists consider human well-being instead of using temperature as a metric for climate change.
“Although climate change will hurt poor people more than anyone else, for the vast majority of them it will not be the only or even the biggest threat to their lives and welfare,” Gates said.
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Their biggest problems — as they’ve always been — are poverty and disease, Gates said. The blog post serves as a callout to attendees of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP30, a global climate summit that will be held in Brazil in November.
Gates seemed to expect people to push back on his words.
“If you think climate is not important, you won’t agree with the memo,” Gates said during a roundtable discussion with reporters, ABC reported. “If you think climate is the only cause and apocalyptic, you won’t agree with the memo.”
